The Old Gods Wait

By Cliff Lake

 

The Old Gods Wait

 

There was a day when,

The Old Gods were wont to walk alongside.

Lessons could be taught then,

And these the Old Gods would provide.

 

Then we were too young,

And in danger of causing our world distress.

Then our Old Gods now unsung,

Would task us our cruelty to redress.

 

Soon then knowledge grew,

And lords of this world did we become.

And our Gods did we review,

And thought to remove from beneath their thumb.

 

So, we made some Gods anew,

That could be made to accede to our whim.

The Old Gods we said were through,

Our memory of them is become dim.

 

But sometimes deep in the wood,

Where the shadows are pleased to take form,

Mighty figures are darkly stood,

Still intent their children to warn.

 

These new Gods bend to our will.

We are allowed our destruction and rapine.

But in silent places dark and still,

The Old Gods wait for us to return to their divine.

 

To venerate green once more,

To live with and to love the land,

To bed down on forest floor,

And take this world as shepherds in hand.

 

Then the Old Gods may shine again,

In starlight or the beams of the Sun.

And we can repeat our lessons then,

And regain divinity we once did shun.

 

Cliff Lake 6/22/2023

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

Location: Dalton, MA, USA

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