The festival of Beltane marked the time when cattle were moved from winter shelter to summer pastures and the community came together in rituals of protection and blessing. Over May Day weekend a group of us celebrated by writing renga verses in our own spaces. I gathered a selection of the verses together to make this special Beltane Renga. It captures a sense of this uncertain time – with thoughts from Derbyshire to Glasgow, city and countryside – and creates a space to look in and look out. A monument for remembrance, as well as blessing and protection.
On Beltane Street
May’s not out yet
so we fill the house
with honesty, forget-me-nots
watering the compost
waiting for the bean shoots
drawn in windows
chalked on pavements
rainbows for our better angels
the curlew’s call follows its flight
sky mapped in sound
thought she was away with the fairies
Grandma May
but now I also chat to them
stilled streets
where wild creatures roam
after the rain
trees groan and stretch
their greening fingers
a circle not a line
this deadlinelessness
rinse until clear
gently reshape
allow to dry naturally
she hits the bottle
it hits her back
I miss waves
long to float
to be held by sea
wasp sawing last year’s lovage
harvesting timber
her children are suspicious
of the new smells
bleach, soap, fear
smoke has no discernible edge
it’s all shadow
let the fern unfurl your grieving
let the heron still your breathing
let the selkie swim you deeper
raising glasses on Zoom
all our wrinkles show
over-heated plate
(earth-coloured)
broken into two half moons
under the blaze of gorse, wild pansies
purple petals, yellow hearts
days like this
begin and end
in fullness
we walk paths from here
to who knows where
*
two robins a branch apart
no need for song
proximity language enough
it is my heart I hear
growling with longing
we walk around an island
built from the acts
of our own containment
five hares in a line – lope
leap – whoooa and they’re gone
pink side down
magnolia petals
dangle and twist
every day now
like three in the afternoon
*
I drive my herd out
[locked down]
between two fires
marsh marigolds crowd the ditch
cups of gaudy gold
she holds up her Thursday pan
to the evening sky
flash and clang and shimmer
mouse-chewed chocolate
a Post Office apology
wands of ash
Venus of the Woods
protect us
reflected light ripples
dissolves a branch, a leaping fish
fresh mown lawn
lungfuls
of torn chlorophyll
ants crawl over the garlic
put down to repel them
aching for the day
when this
is a memory
rosemary in the blue pot
rubbed between thumb and forefinger
at the nature reserve
a police notice asks
Why are you here?
down the desire path
through the puzzled wood
if you knew Time as well as I do
said the Hatter
you wouldn’t talk about wasting it
early morning quiet
kisses the ancient spinney
in the gloaming
they raise a glass
tie Beltane ribbons
whir whir wit whir woo
the pigeon insists
striking a match
in the darkness of stars
flickering in cupped palms
tomorrow’s home-ed
making dandelion honey
this Year of the Great Reckoning
unpunctuated by the dash
of vapour trails.
A Distance/Presence Renga
over Beltane weekend
1st – 3rd May 2020
Participants:
Birtley Aris
Jo Aris
Adrian Brewster
Larry Butler
Holly Clay
John Cobb
Martin Eccles
Linda France
Lilly Fylypczyk
Susan Gibb
Malcolm Green
Jackie Hardy
Sharon Higginson
Geoff Jackson
Virginia Kennedy
Liz Kirsopp
Bernadette McAloon
Karen Melvin
Lesley Mountain
Ellen Phethean
Ruth Quinn
Ratnadevi
Alex Reed
Linda Thake
Maria Venditozzi
Mandy Wilkinson
Botanical 