Cailleach, the Celtic winter queen,
atop the Cliffs of Moher, her domain
the time from Samhainn to Bealltainn,
strikes the ground with her frosty staff,
freezing the tops of hill and mountain.
From her creel drop curious stones
carved with magic, the ancient bones
of her husbands and her many children,
promises of fertile field and glen
when winter’s iron is finally gone.
Kim M. Russell, 15th January 2020
My response to Poets and Storytellers United Weekly Scribblings #2: Myth-placed
Today Rommy makes her debut hosting Weekly Scribblings, with one of her favourite topics – mythology. She asks us to craft our pieces around the idea of a mythological time or place. Her challenge is open to both poetry and prose pieces (fiction or non-fiction), keeping prose 369 words or fewer.
writing in north norfolk 
The imagery gave me the shivers… exactly what one would expect from a Winter Queen! Spring will grow up around those bones, but for now it’s her time.
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I’m glad you got the shivers reading about the queen of winter, who is also known as The Hag. She can be cruel.
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What a concise and complete poem – as finely crafted as the ancient stones
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Thank you, Jae.
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Wonderfully done! I wonder what the queen of winter thinks of us now.
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Thank you, Yvonne!
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This is absolutely stunning, Kim! ❤️ I especially love; “From her creel drop curious stones carved with magic.” 😍😍
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Thank you, Sanaa! 🙂 xxx
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The imagery is strong with this one. That sense of bigger than big is what I love about myth, the feeling that anything can happen (and it usually does). And I really love this bit: “carved with magic, the ancient bones”, how the line break makes me think of old and powerful bones full of magic. 😀
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There are so many ancient stones (and bones) in Ireland and Celtic mythology. Because it was once all word of mouth, I think there are many lesser know stories we have yet to discover. When I lived there, nearly forty years ago, I certainly felt the magic.
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We wait the spring and wsrmth and active life. Bravo
Happy Wednesday
Much✏❤✏love
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It’s Thursday morning now, so happy Thursday and much love, Gillena!
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Now I must read more Celtic mythology. I love how bones become the ground for rebirth.
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Thank you, Lori.
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I can see how the winter queen strikes the ground with her frosty staff Oh this is such a gorgeous poem.
I could read words like this all day
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Thank you so much, Marja!
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An extreme climate … with a Queen that matches! I bet the few weeks of (true) summer are amazingly gorgeous there.
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The west coast of Ireland is wonderful. The worst winter I’ve ever know was when I lived near Kells in the early eighties; the snow was up to the roof and we had icicles hanging from the ceiling! We had to be dug out.
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As temperatures drop here, I understand the idea of “winter’s iron.” Your depiction of the Queen of Winter leaves me to relive my Celtic roots. Thank you, Kim, well done.
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Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Oh, what a lovely retelling!
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Thank you, Rosemary!
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What perfected chills delivered by a winter queen…beautiful
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Thank you so much, Susie!
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Nice reading, Kim. We didn’t know of Cailleach when we visited but we did experience one of her tantrums while it wasn’t even winter. We hit rain so hard we had to turn back. But on our second try a few months later we had a wrongful visit to Cliffs of Moher.
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This comment was ‘wrong’, my smartphone changed my “wonderful” to “wrongful”.
Please keep my corrected version below. Thank you.
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Nice reading, Kim. We didn’t know of Cailleach when we visited but we did experience one of her tantrums while it wasn’t even winter. We hit rain so hard we had to turn back. But on our second try a few months later we had a wonderful visit to Cliffs of Moher.
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Thank you, Jim! It’s been such a long time since I was last there.
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Very well done, Kim. The photo sets the mood for this piece.
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Thank you, Sara!
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