The First Look at Fireflies at Absolute Zero by Erynn Rowan Laurie | Forthcoming October 31st

The first look at Fireflies at Absolute Zero—a forth­coming poetry col­lec­tion by Erynn Rowan Laurie, author of Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom and A Circle of Stones [Megalithica Books]. Erynn’s col­lec­tion will be Hiraeth Press’ final release of 2012, look for it October 31st, just in time for Samhain!

Sugaring

by Erynn Rowan Laurie

How can I answer this ques­tion?

Should I speak of winter, of bone-​​cracking cold?

Shall I tell you of dark morn­ings by the wood stove,

watching my breath rise in clouds, waiting for warmth?

We would sit by the light of kerosene lamps, their glow absorbed

by stove-​​black,

by the scent of burning pine.

I do not miss the cold, or the work of the wood­pile.

I do not miss

the axe.

Childhood is gone. I have gone from my Berkshires

to a dif­ferent life.

I have shed my down and grown flight feathers.

My heart has found a new home, in boughs of cedar and the salt-​​washed Sound.

I am glad of the rain, of mica skies over grey-​​green isles.

I wel­come the dis­tance between myself and that hill time,

that child’s place.

But this I remember — this I cherish:

the black moon­less sky was sharp and clear and the stars

of them­selves lit the snow.

Late February brought the growing sun, began the months-​​long thaw.

There was longing in me; longing for spring,

and the sweet scent of maple in the air.

This was the season of sugar, of light returning,

of tap­ping maples,

watching the slow drip of sap into bucket,

sweet ici­cles forming on the tap.

We gath­ered sweet water, the blood of maples:

the cold clear blood of spring.

The sug­ar­house was bare weath­ered wood, silver in snow, and steam

rose in the still, clear air.

I remember this:

A single drop of cream stills the foam on boiling sap.

Fire in the sug­ar­house warms the deep core of being.

The scent of maple hangs in the sky like milk­weed seed in summer.

Erynn Rowan Laurie is a pro­fes­sional mad­woman who has been fas­ci­nated by Gaelic and other Celtic cul­tures for over two decades. Her occult inter­ests started when she was just a kid and she’s been doing astrology and tarot since about the age of 12. Poet, writer, fem­i­nist, musi­cian, inter­faith activist and dis­abled vet­eran, Erynn is one of the founding voices of the Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan move­ment and the author of Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom.

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, Erynn cur­rently resides in western Washington, loving the moun­tains, forests, and water beyond all logic or reason. She enjoys hiking, back­packing, and camping when she’s able, and records the minu­tiae of her daily life and her spir­i­tual and polit­ical ram­blings at http://​eryn​n999​.live​journal​.com Her latest col­lec­tion Fireflies at Absolute Zero is due out October 31st from Hiraeth Press.