Here's a poem I wrote a while ago that perhaps some of you might enjoy.

 

THE TOWER

 

Would that I had a tower

Upon a windy hill

Far from the spreading shadow

of Man's malignant will.

 

I'd gird it with enchantments

And holy words of power

To ward from it all evil;

O would I had a tower!

 

For from it's topmost casement

I'd spy the glinting sea,

And naught would mar the music

Of wind and honeybee.

 

White deer would pace the orchards

And trout swim in the springs,

And daisies blow on hilltops where

The wheeling swallow sings.

 

The faery lights would glimmer

Across the forest glade.

How warm would be the sunlight;

How cool would be the shade!

 

I'd wed a faery woman

Uncanny as a beam

Of moonlight in a mirror

Or whispers in a dream. 

 

There would I build a chapel

And hang a bell of gold,

And angels would sing masses

While all the world grew old.

 

There I would dream for ages

Until I'd had my fill,

Then sleep until the trumpet

Beneath th'enchanted hill.

 

O would I had a tower

High on a distant hill,

Far from the fatal shadow

Of Man's distempered will.

 

- Tod Jones

 

 

 

What does it mean to believe in Faery?  Or in faeries, for that matter?  I think it signifies a belief that EVERYTHING is alive and intelligent, that everything has it's own genius, that everything has a secret, inward life which we may intuit to a greater or lesser extent, but which must remain largely unknown to us.  It means that personification is not merely a literary device:  it is a penetration to hidden realities; one which is well known to the childlike heart, but forgotten by too many of us as we become ensnared in "adult" foolishness.  It means that we extend to animals, trees, herbs, stars and stones something of the same respect we accord to one another; for we know that even our dearest, most intimate friends are largely mysteries to us, even as we are to ourselves.

In "The Man Who Was Thursday", G.K. Chesterton says (and I paraphrase) that we see only the backs of things:  their faces are turned toward God.  That expresses it perfectly, I think.   

I've been re-watching The Lord of the Rings movies for the upteenth time, and thinking about the scene when the ents descend in wrath upon Isengard -  just at the moment when Saruman is relishing his apparent triumph over the Rohirrim, when it seems that evil must prevail -  and utterly destroy his entire wicked enterprise.  It's the theme of completely unlooked for, unexpected help which I am pondering - a theme which recurs again and again in LotR.

Last night I was listening to NPR (one of my addictions) and a commentator said that if everyone on earth enjoyed the lifestyle of the AVERAGE American, we would need the resources of SIX planet Earths to sustain that.  And that if we keep on living the way we do, no one on earth will enjoy a "first world" lifestyle within 30-50 years.  When you hear things like that you can't help but think, "We are SO DOOMED!"  But then I remember that there are forces at work in the universe of which we know almost nothing -  intelligent, benevolent beings who LOVE us and who can help us when we can barely help ourselves; when it seems certain that all will be lost.

I believe that.  Of course we have the duty to do all we can on the side of goodness, on the side of all Love -  but it doesn't ALL depend on us.  We aren't alone in this. 

Hello Everyone.  I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing this!  I'm not much of a computer enthusiast; in fact, I have no idea how to post a photo of myself on this site!  But I love the realm of the imagination.  I believe it is a manifestation of the Divine Image in the human person.  And I want to share that love with others who also treasure it.  So I'm glad to be here.