Samhain, A Poem.

Samhain is the pagan pre-curser to what we now call Hallowe'en. It was thought that on the nights of the equinox the veil separating the world of the dead from our own world thinned, and the dead could come through.

Not all the dead were consindered scary, though. The people thought that their recent dead visited them, and they put out food, or set an extra place at the table to accommodate them. These dead came to see their loved ones were going on alright.

Evil spirits, though, could come through, too, and so bonfires were lit to keep them at bay. The home fires were put out, too, to be relit the following day from the bonfires.

Pope Gregory decided that some of the pagan dates should be incorporated into the Christian calendar as psople were used to celebrating on those days. Samhain was one of these. The Pope designated it to be All Saint's Day, hence the night before became All Hallow's Eve. (Hallows being another word for 'holy' or 'saint'.)

Pope Gregory also fixed the date of Christmas to co-incide with the pagan festival of Yule, and turned some of the pagan gods into saints. He also used pagan worshiping sites to build Christian churches, on the same principal. People were used to going there to worship.

Here is a poem I wrote for Samhain. I hope you like it.


SAMHAIN

Don't go near the graveyard, darling,
Samain is tonight.
Don't go near the graveyard, darling,
The dead will walk this night.

Keep your candle burning, darling,
Keep it glowing bright.
Keep your candle burning, darling,
Be sure it gives you light.

The bonfires have been lit, darling,
To fill the dark with light.
The bonfires have been lit, darling,
Their flames reach such a height.

Put your home fires out, darling.
Be sure to do it right.
Put your home fires out, darling.
From bonfires we'll relight.

Put food by the door, darling.
Leave it in plain sight.
Put food by the door, darling.
For our own to have a bite.

Do not be afraid, darling,
They see that we're alright.
Do not be afraid, darling,
No harm from them tonight.

But evil spirits come, darling.
We must put them to flight.
But evil spirits come, darling;
Them we must try to fight.

Go and watch the bonfires, darling.
Stand in their bright light.
Go and watch the bonfires, darling,
They keep us safe this night.

When I realised just how many words rhyme with 'night', I just had to write the poem using as many as I could. Unfortunately, I could not use as many as I would have liked, but it made the only rhumes in the poem to be ones that rhymed with  'night' or 'fright'.

I hope you enjoyed my poem. Please leave a comment.

2 words misused all the time.

There are two words that most people get wrong, these days. Strangely, they do not have similar spelling, nor similar sounds. When they are used wrongly, it grates on me.
Many well-educated people do not seem to be able to get it right, either.

What are these words?

They are Number and Amount.

The word 'Number' is rarely misused but 'Amount' is. All the time.

Let me try to explain the difference.

NUMBER This refers to, not surprisingly, the number of things.
It is used when we count things. 1,2,3,4,5 etc.
We can also say, for those techies amongst us, it is a digital word.
It tells us how many of something there is.

AMOUNT This refers to a measurement.
It is used when we don't actually count individual things.
It is an analogue word.
It tells us how much of something there is.

Thus, to say 'The amount of people at the party was 30' is wrong. We are counting those people, not measuring them.

However, it is correct to say 'The amount of rain that fell in October was less than normal.' We are measuring the rainfall.

I don't thing I've ever heard number used for a measurement, unless it is something like 'The number of inches of fabric you need is...', but then it's counting, not measuring.

I would like this to get to as many people as possible, as I am getting increasingly stressed by this incorrect usage. Please re-blog it for my sanity's sake.

The Storm. A Poem

A lovely day, the sun was warm
It had shone on us since dawn.
The heat oppressed us all the day,
Even as in bed we lay.

We went to Leipzig in the heat.
In Thomaskirke we took our seat
To hear St John by J.S.Bach.
It did not end till after dark.

When we emerged it was in rain.
We rushed to find our car again.
The thunder rolled across the sky,
The lightning flashed, but now we're dry.


We drove towards Chemnitz and saw
O'er Dresden, flashes like the War'
Was it '45 again
With bombs falling like the rain?

The lightning flashed, the thunder boomed.
We thought that wewere surely doomed'
It must at least be Armageddon,
Such brightness in a sky so leaden.

The storm went of for several hours
Showing nature's awesome powers
And even though it scared us some
We were impressed. It struck us dumb.

If you liked my poem, which was written after an actual storm in Germany, please add a comment and I'll get back to you. If you woul like to re-blog it I would be very grateful.

2 commonly misused words

There are two words that most people get wrong, these days. Strangely, they do not have similar spelling, nor similar sounds. When they are used wrongly, it grates on me.

Many well-educated people do not seem to be able to get it right, either.

What are these words?

They are Number and Amount.

The word 'Number' is rarely misused but 'Amount' is. All the time.

Let me try to explain the difference.

NUMBER  This refers to, not surprisingly, the number of things.

It is used when we count things. 1,2,3,4,5 etc.

We can also say, for those techies amongst us, it is a digital word.

It tells us how many of something there is.

AMOUNT  This refers to a measurement.

It is used when we don't actually count individual things.
It is an analogue word.

It tells us how much of something there is.

Thus, to say 'The amount of people at the party was 30' is wrong. We are counting those people, not measuring them.

However, it is correct to say 'The amount of rain that fell in October was less than normal.' We are measuring the rainfall.

I don't thing I've ever heard number used for a measurement, unless it is something like 'The number of inches of fabric you need is...', but then it's counting, not measuring.

I would like this to get to as many people as possible, as I am getting increasingly stressed by this incorrect usage. Please re-blog it for my sanity's sake.

Horselords 4

Kimi mounted the horse the young warrior brought her. He held its head as she vaulted onto its back. She recognised it as one of the ones the Prowling Lynx had stolen from her parents' ranch. A chestnut with a blaze down his face and four white socks. She had been particularly fond of this animal, and she delighted to be riding him on her way home, if by a roundabout way.

'I thought you would prefer to ride one of your own horses,' he told her.

She nodded and took the reins from him, gripped the horse with her knees and squeezed. The horse responded and trotted off after the others, who had rounded up the spare horses and had begun to herd them westwards.

Kimi became aware of the young warrior riding up beside her. They rode in silence for some time. Kimi looked sideways at him. She still felt that he looked frightening and became uncomfortable when he looked at her. True, he had promised to take her home as soon as he had delivered the thieves to his father, but could she trust him? Her experiences with the previous tribesmen made her anxious.

The young warrior, after riding alongside her for around an hour, suddenly broke his silence.

'My name's Davrael,' he said. 'What's your's?'

Kimi jumped, then told him her name. He smiled at her and she noticed his eyes for the first time. They were a soft brown and had a spark of humour in them, as well as a kindness. Perhaps he had a fearsome appearance, but somehow she knew that he had a soft side.

Little more was said during the rest of the day, then the band stopped by the side of a stream. They put the captives in one tent, still tied up, and erected a separate tent for Kimi. Davrael smiled at her as he held the tent flap back for her to enter.

'I'll bring you some food in a few minutes,' he said, and disappeared. Kimi unrolled the blankets left for her and sat down cross-legged on them to think about her situation.

Shortly, Davrael returned. He carried two bowls and wooden spoons. He sat down opposite her and handed her one of the bowls and a spoon.

'Sorry it's not better food,' he said, looking at his bowl, 'but we have only trail rations. We cooked dried meat to soften it, but it's not good.'

Kimi shrugged, looking at her own bowl. 'It's better than going hungry. I've eaten worse.' She began to scoop the food into her mouth and chew. The meat was tough, but it was nourishment and so she ate every last bit.

Neither of them spoke while they ate, then, after finishing, Davrael called to one of his men and handed him the bowls. He came back and sat down again. Kimi frowned. Why did he not go? He was not going to be like he other one, was he? Was he going to try to take advantage of her? At that thought, she shrank back a little.

Davrael noticed. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'I'm not a Lynx. The Swooping Hawks don't take advantage of vulnerable women. We have honour. Neither do we steal from others.'

Kimi sighed and resumed her position.

'Tell me about yourself and the Swooping Hawks, Davrael. I am from the Settled Tribes. We have forgotten much of the lives of the Wandering Tribes.'

'We have our own territories,' Davrael replied, 'and we stick to them. At least, the Swooping Hawks do. Other tribes don't always. When there is an infringement, the chiefs will usually try to settle it peacefully, but occasionally there is war.'

'I've heard that the Wandering Tribes are always fighting each other,' said Kimi.

Davrael shrugged. 'If war is needed to settle a matter, then we fight. Some tribes steal, horses or land, like those Lynx.' He spat in the direction of the tent where the Lynx were being held. He stood, and drew himself up to his full height, looking every inch the proud son of a Tribal Chief. 'The Swooping Hawks do not steal, but we will defend what is ours.'

He strode out of the tent, leaving Kimi alone.

Each day for the next sixday, Davrael rode at Kimi's side, and each evening he came to her tent to talk. He did not say much more than he needed to in order to answer Kimi's questions. She decided he was a man of few words. Then, he asked her about her own life. Kimi found herself beginning to like this young man more and more, She became used to the tattoo on his face, and it no longer frightened her. She smiled at the thought.

'What are ;you smiling at,' he asked her.

'Just that I wonder, now, why I was so frightened of you when we first met. I feel as if I've known you for ever, and we've always been friends.'

Davrael's eyes lit up when she said this. 'I'm glad you said that, Kimi. I feel that way too. We've always known each other.'

The ride continued over the plains. Grassland stretched away into the distance. They passed the occasional copse, and many streams. Once they had to cross a wide river at a ford. Davrael stuck to her side all the way until a camp appeared in the distance.

'My father's camp,' Davrael told her. 'Soon we'll be rid of these Lynx dogs and get them tried and condemned then I can take you home.'

What will happen at the camp of Davrael's father? How long will the trial take? And what are the feelings Kimi is beginning to feel for Davrael?

Find out on the first Tuesday of next month.