THE SHELTERS OF STONE

The Mother appealed to the pale shining one.

The Mother held tight. And kept him in sight.

She welcomed him back, Her lover of old,

With heartache and sorrow, Her story She told.

Her dear friend agreed to join in the fight,

To rescue Her child from his perilous plight.

She told of her grief. And the dark swirling thief.

The Mother was tired, She had to recover,

She loosened Her hold to Her luminous lover.

While She was sleeping, he fought the cold force,

And for a time drove it back to the source.

His spirit was strong. The encounter too long.

Her fair shining friend struggled hard, gave his best,

The conflict was bitter, the struggle hard pressed.

His vigilance waned as he closed his great eye,

Then darkness crept close, stole his light from the sky.

Her pale friend was tiring. His light was expiring.

When darkness was total, She woke with a cry.

The tenebrious void hid the light from the sky.

She joined in the conflict, was quick to defend,

And drove the dark shadow away from Her friend.

But the pale face of night. Let Her son out of sight.

Trapped by the whirlwind, Her bright fiery son,

Gave no warmth to the Earth, cold chaos had won.

The fertile green life was now ice and snow,

And a sharp piercing wind continued to blow.

The Earth was bereft. No green plants were left.

The Mother was weary, grieving and worn,

But She reached out again for the life She had borne.

She couldn't give up, She needed to strive,

For the glorious light of Her son to survive.

She continued the fight. To bring back the light.

And Her luminous friend was prepared to contest,

The thief who held captive the child of Her breast.

Together they fought for the son She adored.

Their efforts succeeded, his light was restored.

His energy burned. His brilliance returned.

But the bleak frigid dark craved his bright glowing heat.

The Mother defended and would not retreat.

The whirlwind pulled hard, She refused to let go,

She fought to a draw with Her dark swirling foe.

She held darkness at bay. But Her son was away.

When She fought the whirlwind and made chaos flee,

The light from Her son glowed with vitality.

When the Mother grew tired, the bleak void held sway,

And darkness returned at the end of the day.

She felt warmth from Her son. But neither had won.

The Great Mother lived with the pain in Her heart,

That She and Her son were forever apart.

She ached for the child that had been denied,

So She quickened once more from the life-force inside.

She was not reconciled. To the loss of Her child.

When She was ready, Her waters of birth,

Brought back the green life to the cold barren Earth.

And the tears of Her loss, abundantly spilled,

Made dew drops that sparkled and rainbows that thrilled.

Birth waters brought green. But Her tears could be seen.

With a thunderous roar Her stones split asunder,

And from the great cave that opened deep under,

She birthed once again from Her cavernous room,

And brought forth the Children of Earth from Her womb.

From the Mother forlorn, more children were born.

Each child was different, some were large and some small,

Some could walk and some fly, some could swim and some crawl.

But each form was perfect, each spirit complete,

Each one was a model whose shape could repeat.

The Mother was willing. The green earth was filling.

All the birds and the fish and the animals born,

Would not leave the Mother, this time, to mourn.

Each kind would live near the place of its birth,

And share the expanse of the Great Mother Earth.

Close to Her they would stay. They could not run away.

They all were Her children, they filled Her with pride,

But they used up the life-force She carried inside.

She had enough left for a last innovation,

A child who'd remember Who made the creation

A child who'd respect. And learn to protect.

First Woman was born full-grown and alive,

And given the Gifts she would need to survive.

Life was the First Gift, and like Mother Earth,

She woke to herself knowing life had great worth.

First Woman defined. The first of her kind.

Next was the Gift of Perception, of learning,

The desire to know, the Gift of Discerning,

First Woman was given the knowledge within,

That would help her to live, and pass on to her kin.

First Woman would know. How to learn, how to grow.

Her life-force near gone, The Mother was spent,

To pass on Life's Spirit had been Her intent.

She caused all of Her children to create life anew,

And Woman was blessed to bring forth life, too.

But Woman was lonely. She was the only.

The Mother remembered Her own loneliness,

The love of Her friend and his hovering caress.

With the last spark remaining, Her labor began,

To share life with Woman, She created First Man.

Again She was giving. One more was living.

To Woman and Man the Mother gave birth,

And then for their home, She gave them the Earth,

The water, the land, and all Her creation.

To use them with care was their obligation.

It was their home to use. But not to abuse.

For the Children of Earth the Mother provided,

The Gifts to survive, and then She decided,

To give them the Gift of Pleasure and sharing,