Tale #93: A circle, whispering time

They built a calendar out of trees and flowers in the meadows around the town.

12 groves in a circle, a new colour blooming each month.

In January, the white of snowdrops
In February, the yellow of daffodils
In March, the green of grey willow
In April, the blue of wisteria
In May, the pink of cherry blossoms
In June, the red of poppies
In July, the honeyed yellow of catkins on sweet chestnut trees
In August, the purple velvet of tufted vetch
In September, the crimson of burnet
In October, the gold of autumn hawkbit
In November, the grey beards clinging to the branches of the clematis trees

Then December comes.

In the silence nothing grows,
but much is buried

_________

Notes:

1. Written on September 4, 2019
2. And reminiscent of this previous tale – The town, the forest, the past

everything i cook tastes the same

everything i cook tastes the same
sometimes i think i’ll cook something different
something nice
so i get a recipe book out
and choose something different
something nice
and start making it

of course
i don’t have this ingredient
or that ingredient
so i use the nearest thing i have
out of the ingredients i already have
or leave it out entirely
and hope it’s okay

still
at least i’ve cooked something different
something nice
which tastes exactly the same now
of course
as everything else i’ve ever cooked

__________

Notes:

1. Written on January 13th, 2020

Tale #92: The Morning Birds Free The Soul, The Night Ones Take Them

It was a commonly held belief that heaven resided in the earth and hell within the air. Crops grew from the ground, while fire and smoke rose upwards.

Worms were believed to be new souls struggling to the surface from heaven, and only with the help of the morning birds could they be pulled free and delivered to the newborns that needed them. A child born in the morning was said to be blessed with a good soul.

Upon death, the body was returned to the ground, so as to be nearer heaven. The bodies of the sinful and the condemned were hoisted up and left on the roofs of houses, so that the evening birds (crows, gulls, owls) could pick clean their bones and take not only their flesh but their souls up into the skies towards damnation.

__________

Notes:

1. Written on August 8th, 2013