The Three-Fold Death

[Hawkman]

See the Druids gather, watch them huddle in the night,
a sharpening their sickles in the moonbeam’s fickle light.
The mistletoe is gathered and the altar is prepared,
while the Roman captive trembles, and he’s reason to be scared;
for the vengeance of the Druids is both terrible and swift,
with all the wrongs that Rome has done they’re righteously quite miffed.
The sacred groves are empty, save this last remaining one,
the oldest and the strongest, and it’s here they’ll have their fun.
The ancient Celtic gods demand a sacrifice of blood,
spilled from this their prisoner, in crimson tidal flood.
Now Druid Daff and Druid hill, and Druid Hawk draw lots,
hoping for the right to sever all his major knots.
Unfortunately all the straws were cut to the same lengths,
so now they’ll have to share the task, combining all their strengths.
As Druid hill likes cooking, he’ll prepare the ergot meal,
while Druid Daff prepares the rope to strangle off the squeal
but Druid Hawk’s a swordsman and he likes to use a blade,
so he’s the one who’ll cut the throat within the sacred glade.
And now it’s done, the three-fold death, the body now must slide
beneath the inky surface of a bog it freely glides,
for there it will atone within the spirit world of old,
it’s pockets overflowing with the gift of Roman gold.

[lallison]

The Three-Fold Death? Seriously? That's a painful title, but love the dialect you use. this one reminds me in voice of your Sierra Madre poem, with the "one gold tooth between them."


for the vengeance of the Druids is both terrible and swift,
with all the wrongs that Rome as done they’re righteously quite miffed.
I hope you were going for laughter with this couplet. I gave it a good chuckle. ("as" should be "has", I think. At least in American English.)

Now that i think about it, the couplets as a whole were a nice comical touch. I'm sure you will get plenty of feedback on this, and, hey, I want to be a druid too! Then again, now that I think about it, I'm more like the prisoner. i could really empathize with him.

Conclusion: it demanded a second reading. And along with the comedy, it's quite mystical and has strenght to it.

Well done, H. lal

[Bar22do]

Long live the druidic memory! whether embodied by hawk, hill or daf! Romans must be punished again and again, but what about the Christians whom (the remaining...) Druids and their people heroically opposed somewhat later (though aware there was no hope! just as in the Warsaw ghetto folks fought for their people's honour), but were slaughtered indistinctly...?
See, your "funny" tale is thought provoking and lall is right.

[PrinceMyshkin]

The poem flows as freely as the bloody ceremony you describe, and what a masterful balance of the comical vernacular and the gory events being described.

[Hawkman]

Hi lall,

The title is actually the correct archaeological term for the execution described in my verses, although I have taken a little poetic licence with the time scales here. I am of course referring to the bog bodies found around Northern Europe from Scandinavia to Ireland, which actually predate the Roman invasion of Britain by some 3000 years. However, there are similarities in Celtic religious practices, e.g. Water as the gateway to the spirit world, sacred springs (not just Celtic) and gifts to the gods through casting items into water.

Thanks for pointing out the typo which I have corrected. The style was indeed meant to be comic but it does make a serious point about the Roman subjugation of Britain. The Romans systematically exterminated the native British, intellectual and spiritual elite. This is what the Druids were. They were wiped out in Anglesey just before Boudica’s rebellion.

I am most gratified that you enjoyed it and that it also gave you food for thought, as well as a laugh. :D

Sweet Bar,

By the time of the advent of imperial Christianity the Druids were extinct. Or at the very least a spent force. Any vestige of their religion would have been confined to the extremities of these islands. Perhaps in Cornwall, Wales and possibly Scotland. Certainly the main body of what is now England was, during the Dark Ages after the departure of the Romans, by this time the preserve of Anglo Saxons and their gods. The return of Rome, in the form of the church, seems to have been fairly bloodless in its conversion of the inhabitants. But then The church was the winner, with the control of the written historical record.

Boudica’s was the last rebellion against Roman rule.

The appalling fate of the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis can be laid firmly at Stalin’s door, as he actively prevented support for it by the Western allies.

Still, thanks for reading and enjoying my little tale.

Thanks, My prince Glad you enjoyed my little slice of mayhem :D

Live long and prosper, one and all – Best, H

[dafydd manton]

And as we three, we dreadful three
Approach the circling stone,
The brotherhood surrounding see,
That we our country own.

Take our gold, or silver too
Take away our coal,
Take our slate, ye heathens true
But you'll never take our soul!

Our emblem flies above your head,
Flies silent, drear and true.
Sleep not easy in your bed.
The dragon's watching.....You!

[Hawkman]

Oak trees and mistletoe
Sacred wood and stone
Now and forever let them
Here protect our home.

The Dragon high above us
And the one beneath our feet
Proclaim our Celtic heritage
And they will never sleep.

And we are the guardians
Descendants of their line
Sworn to keep our heritage
Preserved for all of time.

[dafydd manton]

We are the sons of Gwalia
Our Celtic gore flows pure.
We have the thing that you may not.
The blood-line of Glyndwr.