Oh, where did they go?

[Chad]

Lorna has shared a couple of excellent poems on here. Anyone who hasn't checked them out, please do. I thought I'd share a writing on the ancestors, a view of my take on their culture, in contrast to our world today.

Oh, where did they go?

The morning dew, kisses the grass in the wake of dawn
Awaking, rising with the Sun
Tilling and planting, the tribe knows they each hold a stake
As one they tend the crops and fields
And I ask you, where did they go?

The fire of the forge, heat of which
Dwarfed by the passion of a people
For which, the maces, spears and swords will be raised
As they battle for honor and spoils
Again, I ask you, where did they go?

The robed Druids, clad in fine jewels
Communing with the gods
Those wise souls who gather in the forest grove
Those healers, judges and mystics
Oh, Wise Ones, where did you go?

What became of the old oak groves?
What became of the circles of stones?
What became of the knotted jewels?
What became of the wise, replaced by the fools?

Brace for the Legion's might
They set their sights to the north by west
Boudica set her eyes on Londonium
Iceni and Trinovantes fight as one
But, where, where did they go?

As the ages have come and passed
Descendants who spread out thoughout the world
And spurred forth the modern day
I look back to an ancestral past
And with woe, I wonder, where did it go?

I think of the Druid
I think of the farmer
I think of the brave, noble warrior
I think of those artisans
Those bards and poets
The wanderers of the woods
The hymns to the Old Gods
Oh, where did they go?

[lorna]

I like this poem, but I think it's important not to look back on the past with too much nostalgia. It's likely many of the Druids were as corrupt as our politicians. Working on a farm was probably harder than modern factory work, albeit less alienating.

Admittedly this is something I'm also guilty of- I think it's human nature to make myths from history, which is itself a myth of sorts constructed by the victors...

And where did they go? Could they still be with us now, inspiring, guiding us toward a better way of living?

[Chad]

I will always believe we can have the best of the past as well as the present. I'm by no means advocating a return to the Iron Age. Hehe But, I believe in livi g in harmony with nature. I also believe in culture rooted within it. I believe both can exist in the present and the future. It's just a matter of changing ourselves, and stopping those who profit from our planet's and, most don't consider this, our minds destruction. Aldo, as a factory worker, I can tell you it is very alienating at times.

[dreamguardian]

Druids were modern equivalent of our MPs. Massive influence on the populace. Some had to of been corupt, without question.

Iron age Britain was extremely hierarchal. The few ruled the many. The class system is at odds with neo-druids were who are mainly liberal or anti establishment.

A paradox I find amusing

[dreamguardian]

Great poem BTW

[Chad]

Thank you. I don't usually delve into politics with other Pagans, because usually, they and I talk about Pagan related themes. The few times I have, I find them to mostly be liberal. Granted there are differences between what constitutes a liberal here, and that of the UK. I would assume, that such also applies to the different countries within the UK. Like in the US, nationalism is a conservative trait, but in Wales, it's a liberal thing. I don't know if it would be in England or Scotland. This is just by what I have been told. I don't know a thing about how that works in Northern Ireland. Anyway, I know a few conservative Pagans, but they're all American. But, I'd say what passes for a moderate European, would pass for liberal in the United States. I'm probably on the extreme left wherever I go.