Queen of the May

She calls
And now you know you must answer
Softly at first
At Spring Equinox
She was all innocence
All light-voiced song
And you know She calls
The Queen of the May
The virgin voice now lusty and deep
Full in the belly and full in the throat
Her song caresses you
Like her fingertips caress the belly of Experience
And you answer her call

She calls
And you are faery-led
Into the wild haunts
To lay yourself down
As sacrifice
Upon the altar of ecstasy
To dance free around the faery tree
To let your heart be filled
With the songs of sparrows
And swifts
As they scream overhead
To touch the grace of the deer in the shadows
To feel the heartbeat of the earth
Pulsing beneath your feet
As you set your roots down
Even as you reach towards the skies
The Beltane time is nigh

You hear a cry
And it is your own soulsong
Escaping your cherry-red lips
Filled with laughter
And grief
Freedom

You dance the circle round
Whispering secrets to the trees
The eyes of the hidden folk following
You know who you are
You know who you were meant to be
And in your breathless dance
You sweat your prayers

And She hears them
And with crystalline clarity you know
In the blood that runs through your veins
And the thoughts that course through your mind
In the lives and loves of your ancestors
You know you are not the only one

And you revel in your witchdom

The music slows
The eyes of the does drop to the ground
As they lower their heads in reverence
For here She comes
Sovereignty
And you look into Her in the eyes
And you see the May Queen

You see all that you were
And all that has been
And you nod and you smile
She takes your hand
She knows every crack in your heart
She knows your inner land

And as the bright sun fades
And the stars begin to shine
You honour your past
Your future is bright
And the magic never ends
As day turns into night
She blesses you
With your own inner sight
There is starshine in your hair
There is elphame in your soul

And you remember
All you have been
All you have seen and been told
And you have come home