The Gatherer

I gathered hemlocks in the forest's shade

Sprouting from the stumps of long-dead trees,

I gathered lovers but I left them all

For one who called me and my soul did seize.

I gathered berries in my carefree days

Delighting in the seasons of my youth

But a persistent pain dwelt in my heart

That only One in all the earth could soothe.

I gathered memories and held them close,

Remembered as the years tolled on, the dead,

And walked between the hills of grief and joy

Resisting the road of light that lay ahead.

I gathered poems and music from the air

Descending from a height to me unknown,

My family gone, my bride a spirit-bird

In whiteness to her resting-chamber flown.

I gather now the portions of a life

Most fully lived though I have just begun,

One waits for me within these walls of clay

The fire-guide who lit in me the sun.