Walking the Shoreline

Photo credit: Ianto Roberts
 
 

Walking the shoreline

 

Born in the beating heart of the City,

I pulsed as one with its life blood.

The neon-tainted night writhed, unsleeping,

The pale, weak dawn seeped unrelenting 

Through the cracks in ragged curtains.

The traffic thrummed an insistent drumbeat.

 

Used to perpetual motion, I somehow landed

In this back-water wilderness, frozen in aspic,

Beached by a pool of stagnant water.

Barren mountains and screes of slate

Watch the Red Kite soar, hear the raven speak

The eternal cold of standing stone, of bleached bone.

 

How can I re-invent myself in this place of finality?

My door in the City opened onto infinite incarnations,

Stepping out was to explore endless potential. 

Chance encounters became friendships.

Unhappy jobs tossed aside for myriad alternatives.

Train lines, bus routes, arteries to escape. 

Always a choice, for the constant chameleon.

 

Flight denied, I fought against captivity, 

I kicked and bit, I punched and spat.

I wriggled like the worm on the hook.

For twenty years refused to unpack my boxes,

To be ready to ride the wave of freedom,

When it finally lapped at my desert door.

 

Eventually, exhausted, I stopped stock still,

The full moon watching, amid countless stars.

My upturned face gazed back, tears flowing.

My feet felt their roots for the first time,

I raised my arms to embrace the mystery,

Ready to listen, to hear Her voice within.

 

I stopped looking for the escape hatch,

The labyrinth I must walk lies within,

The inspiration I seek must be earned.

Walk the shoreline, feed the Cauldron,

Without thought to the passage of time.

Cerridwen guides my steps, 

True transformation awaits.

 

Gail Spiritstar Roberts, Priestess of Cerridwen

Gwynedd, Wales

Gail Spiritstar is a Priestess of Cerridwen and an Awenydd of the Anglesey Druid Order. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Gail has always known in her bones the essential, deep connection with nature and a love of wild places. She has been consciously following a path of nature-based spirituality for 35 years. Gail moved to Wales in 1995 to train with the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. She is an experienced actor, singer and storyteller. Gail now lives in Southern Snowdonia, not far from Llyn Tegid, Bala. As a Priestess she enjoys serving by co-creating ceremonies, building community and…anything else Cerridwen may require!