Needing Symbols

by Katherine L. Gordon

Fire-flickering symbols in Neolithic art

attest to fairies, nature spirits intimate to man,

who radiated in those dark caves where thought was born.

Everywhere, a young mind unfettered,

not shaped by blinkered dogma,

saw the dance of animated energy

between the stones and roses,

over the bogs, unmapped paths

leading away from sterile cities

into the rare wild places preserved.

I saw them often in the ancient cliffs

un-scythed, untamed, glittering,

primordial energy yet untapped.

Sometimes a wise wolf on a moon-ascent path

leads to revelation, a shaman or his raven

carrying the wisdom of our ages in a rush-rough basket.

The transformative unicorn barely seen since Marco’s

diary days, still resides in our unconscious.

When we are entrapped, we ride the wind,

the haunted hollows of insight.

Even on Mars we will need to re-affirm that we are human:

choosing timeless entities shaped by communal creative consciousness

to save us from ourselves.

* * * * *

"Needing Symbols" is from Katherine L. Gordon's new collection Wing-Wishing: Of Unicorns, Ravens and Wolves (Melinda Cochrane Publications Inc., 2019).

Katherine L. Gordon is a poet, publisher, essayist, judge and reviewer, whose works have been published internationally, translated into several languages. She is currently the overseas judge for the Reuben Rose International contest. Her latest book: Caution: Deep Water, HMS Press, was named among the best reads of 2018 in The Southwest Festival of the Written Word in the U.S. Her tribute poem to Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 100th celebration is published in Italian, a current e-book. She has many books, chapbooks, anthologies and collaborations with her talented peers who inspire her work. Publications with Craigleigh Press, Lummox Press, HMS Press, Cyclamens and Swords Press. She was awarded a certificate from The World Poetry Society this summer, 2019. Katherine believes poetry is a unifying force in the world today, with Canadian poetry making a powerful impact. A review of her work is in the summer issue of Canadian Stories. Her new book with Melinda Cochrane International Press is Wing-Wishing: of Unicorns, Ravens and Wolves.