On a faraway hill there once was a tree As lonely and barren as that tree could be Till one day came a Stranger all dressed in green And they were a weaver of the seen and unseen
They looked at the tree and its hidden desires That danced round that tree like green foxes of fire Sparkling like starlight in the blackest of skies Reminding that Stranger of the light in His eyes
So the Stranger stopped still and upturned their face Called to our Weaver, the holder of fates And Her answer came floating like feathers through air To merge with the Stranger, their skin bones and hair
They started to dance, and they moved around slowly Taking such care just like each step was holy Touching down gently like a stag in the wood Reminding that Stranger of their Man in Green Hood
From the base of that hill the Stranger did dance Spiraling upwards between the three lands And as sunrise came slowly to the edge of the sky The Stranger and tree came to meet eye to eye
Its branches rose up, each one back lit in crimson Its trunk was etched deeply with lines holding wisdom Roots hugging Earth gently as a bear holds her cub Reminding That Stranger of Her thorny heart’s rub
As birds heralded daylight the Stranger did sing Voice echoing deeply like a silver bell’s ring Its ethereal grace embraced the tree Like twin snakes dancing in divine revelry
The tree started to glow as if it was on fire The serpentine light flowing deeper and higher Till it’s heart burst with an orange red flare Reminding that stranger of mystery’s care
In the suns full bright gaze, the Tree stood so tall Seeming together the One and the All Then suddenly leaves ushered in life Followed by fruit red and ripe for the knife
The stranger they laughed and it echoed with lightning Crowning the Tree with its crooked gold shining Drawing around it the old Lore and Good Reminding that Stranger of the deep dark WildWood
On a faraway hill there once was a tree As large and majestic as that tree could be Till one day came a Stranger all dressed in green And they were a weaver of the seen and unseen
The adventure begins when
I stand before them and say
As this candle is lit
May you light my way
I offer them incense and
Wave them three times
May they nourish and
Sustain you is my next line
Sometimes I kneel but
More often I stand
Maybe I’ll sit as they
Come take my hand
And suddenly the room
Is not not the same anymore
Our two realms blend and
They open a door
The floor becomes water
Dragonflies in the air
Or maybe I’ll find I have
Moss in my hair
And that I’m in a grove
Surrounded by Oaks
With boughs of Holly
How their thorny leaves poke!
And I’ll lie on the grass
As he strokes my hair
And tells those secrets
That only we share
As the Fae dance around us
And we pretend not to see
Their shimmering faces
Full of mischievous glee
Or maybe I’ll travel on some
Perilous dream quest
Through the stone hollows
With too much to digest
As I challenge my shadows
Or murky visions see
Maybe ancestors come
Just to spend time with me
While hidden dangers around
Every cobwebbed corner lie
And sometimes I will feel
The end really is nigh
As I find myself trapped by
Dark thoughts and fear
And need to remember
All that I hold dear
And that I am courageous
And loving and kind
That none of this means
That I’ve lost my mind
I’m just on an adventure
That others don’t share
Perhaps they don’t want to
Or maybe they don’t care
But it doesn’t really matter
At least not to me
As I wrap myself up
In your bright divinity
And smile as I realise
How important you are
To my still being here
And not going too far
For daily life fades
When you are around
But still I can bear it
Because you I have found
And we travel together
This crooked left path
With your hand in mine
And love in our heart
I am ready to embrace
Who I am
Except when I’m not
Ready
It’s hard
When you’re an
Inbetween
It’s been a full year today
Since
I came out online
As Asexual
As panromantic
As they
In that time I’ve
Come to terms
With being
Nonbinary
In a binary world
I call myself Al
Except when I don’t
Signature coming out
All wrong
Having to do it
Again
I still get a flush of
Pride
When my self talk
Works
And I call myself
Al
But then family don’t
And work forgets
Even though it’s
Official
Only it’s not
My work is happy
To call me
By my chosen name
But then
Tax is different
So
My pay details are for
My birth name
And people who know me
Before
Still call me
By that name
Or forget
And it’s embarrassing
To have to
Correct
Them all the time
So I let it go
My beloved chosen
Family
Are so supportive
Take such care when
Referring to me
Calling my
Name
They are the reason I
Was able to
Come out
Be myself
In the first place
Until I met them
I didn’t even
Realise why I felt
The way I
Do
Or did
Especially my ‘brother’
Who pushed me
To accept
Myself
And held me when I
Stumbled
So I wouldn’t fall
I’m part of a Pride group
At work
It’s been wonderful
To be part
Of a group that
Wants to
Include you
Only they don’t
Because
LGBTI only know how
To deal with
The L, G and B part
Even though they say
They want to address
The rest
Stupid how the
Small things
Can make you so
Happy
Like being able
To use the
Gender neutral
Toilets
If no-one else is
Or being called Al
On my name tag
And my email
Like helping my
Community
For wear it purple day
We managed to raise
More money for
Minus18
Than we had for
Any charity
Before
It made me wonder
Why
And I feel so
Naive
Or a freak
Having to
Stand up and be
Noticed
To push an
Agenda that others
Don’t have to
They are binary
They look at me and see
The surface
And sometimes that means
I do too
Come along with me
And we’ll fly to the moon
Dance on the silver sands
Roll over each glorious dune
While etched above our heads
Glittering sparks of star light
Play amidst glowing balls
Wonders of eternal night
I look at your silent face
A mask of red white and black
Lit up by my shining heart
And I know you are smiling back
That behind your mask
You think kindly of me
And this show of wonders
You set up so I can see
Yet I fear that all this is dust
And we are dreaming here
So down I fall into the dark
But you are ever near
And there I find you yet again
Yet in a different guise
Your mask exchanged for a veil
Black drapes about your eyes
That dangle entwined with
Feathers of a raven cloak
You sit in a chamber of stone
I listened but you never spoke
You gestured to a round table
Marked and laid with runes
While drifting from some way off
Came the tickle of a lazy tune
The light was thick and heavy
And I stood there dumb
Unknowing and unsure
My body felt entirely numb
Like I was somewhere else
That this was not meant for me
You plucked out my bloody heart
And held it for me to see
I realised that I was naked
Standing before you in my skin
Which you painted in my blood
Sigils of knowing from my kin
They seeped in as you stroked
The tear that escaped my dam
Whispered to me words so soft
Like the wool of a newborn lamb
And suddenly I understood
As your blackness turned to white
The secrets of life death and life
A spiraling wondrous height
That left me giddy and raw and
Trying desperately not to swoon
I clutch my wildwood tree and hear
Come long with me to the moon
What lies beneath the water?
I stand at the shore
With the shoes
Watching the others wade
Into Merlin’s cave
I would love to follow but
My feet would have to step
Into that water and I can’t
So I stand with shoes
And wait for them to return
What does the water hold?
Such a beautiful waterfall
In a sparkling glen
With ribbons tied to the trees
And candles in the rocks
The water is shallow and
They are walking across
To see the wonders more closely
I stand on the shore
Or balance precariously
On the stepping stones
What secrets are in that water?
I try to sleep
But the sound of the creek
Keeps me awake with its
Endless sighs and laughter
He smiles at me and I feel
Safer somehow and I long
To be that brave explorer
That sparkles from legend
So I buy a talisman
Aquamarine
In the shape of a toad
From where the creek babbles
How the water speaks
I stand at the edge
Healing waters fill the open bath
People dangle their feet
Or move through it
Soaking it in
I finger my talisman
And sit in the sun nearby
He brings to me Strawberry
So named for her hair
And she warns me
Not to trust
That everything will change
That he is not what he seems
What causes the water to move?
Time passes and I feel
Like I have grown
They are meeting Hecate
At the beach
The tide is coming in
We stand on the sand
And she claims her offerings
Water rising around our ankles
I feel its movement
On my skin and it is
Comforting
Like I have come home
Or am in tune with its
Gentle tugging motions
I smile and look down
At my talisman
Working his magic
How water fills me
I wake damp with sweat
The smell of salt still
Deep within my nostrils
The emerald sea moving
Behind my eyes
The boat wasn’t there
And I was in the water
Wondering about sharks
In front of me there was a
Single rolling wave
Like the flipper of a lazy whale
Rising up
And I saw it moving
Something in the water
Getting closer
With nowhere for me to run
Tiny ripples form around an
Edge of skin
Becoming larger
The green bump of a nose
I feel its edges as the face
Rises up
Water dripping from his scales
The nose becoming
A long snout
Like that of a crocodile
Only larger and green
Teeth glinting under the jade
Glowing sky
We face each other
Something dangerous
A warning
A protector
And I wake damp with salt
Deep within his belly
Listening to the hunger
Of the screeching winds
I am stone
Cracks fashion
Who I am
I fill them with
Glittering things
So my surface
Seems
Smooth
I am stone
Cracks are
Part of me
In ways that
Defy
Expectations
Mine
Not other people’s
I am stone
Each crack
Has hidden
Depths
And if you
Run
Your fingers
Over my
Skin
You feel
My brail
A tale waiting
For someone
To read it
I am stone
My surface is
Rugged
Etched
By the winds
All things that
Fly
By me
Never to stay
To explore
My canyons and
Hidden
Valleys
I am stone
I do not
Feel
Isolated
By your
Failing
To stop or
Notice
No tears fall
My surface
Is
Ever dry
And cracked
I am stone
Formed
Through explosions
Intense
Pressures
Splintering me
Into pieces
To grains
Sand
Beneath your
Stomping
Feet
I am stone
I do not
React
When you
Snarl
Or spit some
Crude
Remark
About my
Form
Or lack of one
Because I
Am
Not
As you
Wish
Me to be
I am stone
Something for
You to
Fashion
To chip into
Delicate
Pieces
Some discarded
Others
Criticized
Because you
Are no
Sculptor
And that is
My
Fault
I am stone
And I can
Crush you
Squash
Your puny
Ego
Into wet
Puddles
Of pus
And bile
Until you
Seep into my
Skin
Surviving
Only
Because I
Survive
I am stone
And
I
Am
Everlasting
Green and Grey 
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