How Old Holly Came to Be
In the beginning there was the wood
by a stream
tower
climbing vines bad
wind neutral
the lady neutral, came to tower, made a garden, cut other trees burned in garden
She did not cut the Holly Tree
climed the tree read books, neutral
moon is light and dark
man is both light and dark
came to the tower, they were both beneath the tree
sang to the lady, they both left the tower
garden grew left untended changed, garden was no more
tower left untended did not change and stayed
Holly grew, stay, did not change
lady game to the tower
cut a branch for a wreath, bad
rooted the vines cut from branches, good
sat beneath the holly and the moon and wept, neutral
she sang beneath the holly, good
sang good
left the tower, bad
holly changed, both good and bad
stream, wind, birds beautiful
lady sat beneath the tree and read, good and beautiful
lady turned her ankle bad
lady sang to tree, branch became a walking stick, good
picked herself on the thorns, bad
lady sang and holly spread down the stream and around the tower
holly grove was good
wind was bad
holly bent
smoke on the sky
shapes moving across the hills
great black wolve mouths of fire
men bent halfway into birds
they were both and bad
shadow bent to look as if it were a man
shapes came closer
she said
Old holly became a man, he was both, and it was good
lady sang
New holly bent and became a spear and it was good
Old holly took the spear
old holly struck the wolves
he tore the men bent into birds and tore them apart
the ground shrunk away from the shadow thing
spear wood of lving green, blade bright as berry blood
struck the shadow thing and watched it die and this was good
lady said she must leave
said that she would return
said for Holly to stay here with the tower for her return
lady went inside the tower, came outside, said goodbye
made her a walking stick of green wet wood
made a crown of bright red berry
roof and glass of the tower left, the bones of the wolves left
old holly stayed
the stream left, the tower left, old holly stayed