“The Legend of Prester John”

“Perhaps the purpose of pilgrimage is to seek a great spiritual truth;

Search for protection, absolution, healing...

Too, there is the need for the magical...

Wander into the realm of the elusive mage king, Prester John.

Just like the Magi,

We are still in search for this magnificent bestiary, 

That sacred space between yesterday and tomorrow ,

The vast fantastical empire of Prester John,

Timeless, mysterious, immortal, supernatural, alchemical;

Land of enchanted creatures and river of Paradise;

Reputed to be located somewhere between 

The red plains of Africa and indigo mountains of Tibet

 Lies the legacy of the Beautiful Black Sheba

And the bleached bones of her beloved Solomon;

As under the ancient sands rest the reliquary of saints, 

The tomb of St. Thomas, with the long sought grail.

There is that medieval place of the magnificent conjureman, Prester John.

Not the John of Darkness,

The Baptist, Emperor, orThe Divine;

The Great, Popes I and III, not John Paul II,

Gaunt, Damascus, The Cross, King ( not a good man, was he);

Not even Brother John, or Burlington John..

Neither Revelating John  of the Seven Seals,

Nor Ole John Henry.

But the trickster kingman, Prester 

We keep looking for you, John...”

- Toni Truesdale

copyright 20

Path of Tears

Path of Tears

Historical grief slips secretly generation into generation

Unseen yet visible emotionally 

In sterile familiar poverty;

Pain, sacrifice still poisons unresolved time,

Victims caught in moments of past tragedy

Leaving a legacy of tears that haunt children presently.

Adults respond by drinking away impersonal pain 

Leading  to destruction, self imposed this time, again

From  senses becoming incomplete

And, the  land murmurs in despair, as well as in

The very air 

Filters atmosphere, pathos steeped ...

Spirits all around

Some Native to this land, others brought to serve and slave

Still overlapping the sequence

beyond dying, out side the living

Imprints of sorrow nestled in the soil

Discerned by the unconscious living mind

The footprints of historic grief.... 

Migrations

Primordial people

Set forth on the longest journey;

To here, now as each individual breath descends;

We all exhale in the moment of still moving humanity.

All have come from historical patterns of migrations.

Moving through hunger, violence, fear

Diaspora,trans-Atlantic passages, immigration, displacement, clearances

The long walks and removals...

To emerge with peaceful purpose into the consciousness

Of the Fifth World.

copyright Toni Truesdale 2015 

Samhain

Samhain, All Souls, Saints and All Hallow's Eve

At this liminal time of the year when the veils between the worlds thin,

Portals open and visitation begins'

We give time to wonder about the afterlife,

Send love to our beloveds,

Give homage to our ancestors,

Become wary of the tricksters,

Ask help from the Spirit World to guide us through the dark days ahead.

It is the hours of magic. 

Little people,

Fairies, elves, sidhe...

Most cultures have stories

in commonality;

That represent the spirit world;

Small ones that are intermediaries

of parallel existences

Largely unseen.

Except at certain spectral times

When the veil thins and

And one might perceive...

The other side;

As in ancient lore

Earthly folk are enticed

Into a paradise,

Peopled by the most beautiful shining ones.

Queen Mab might longing for a handsome lad.

It could be a reward or a trick,

For there is a mischevious kind.

Some do not want to be seen, ever

By the rather large, inelegant humans

That are all too curious

To see the winged, tiny creatures.

Butterflies remind us of

Tales older than time’s memory

When the magical

was reality.

T.Truesdale copyright 2012

 “Cycles and Seasons”

Fall Equinox

By Toni Truesdale

The recurrence of the seasons continue to encircle our lives,

 Just as it gave celebrations to our ancestors.

 Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice,

 Fall Equinox, and Winter Solstice

Mark those passages in a yearly cycle all over the world.

We have learned to plant food and medicines

According to the agricultural calendar.

We dance in a circle to celebrate the planting,

Harvesting, and the storing of food.

Buildings, monuments, and spiritual spaces have been built

To align with the celestial movements that determine

The four seasons at the point of each transition.

“Harvest”

Fall Equinox

Corn to the Americas is a sacred staple,

Native farmers cultivated over 500 varieties before 1492.

Tomatoes, beans, potatoes,

Chocolate, chili, squash, peppers

Avocado, vanilla, cashews, blueberries..

Are just a few foods from  indigenous gardens.

Foods of the Americas feed the world.

T. Truesdale copyright 2005

Migration

Moving is all part of our life experience for most of us. 

I am here in Maine 10 minutes to the beach, 5 minutes to the Saco river.

Water, I am drawn to it. The motion reminds one of the timelessness of the earth.

Moving so many miles with so much art was a huge challenge.

 (300+paintings, did not count the prints and drawings but lots)

Still living around boxes and house renovations in my 155 year old house;

This will be a process for a while.

The humidity and heat is now being remembered, wow

what a difference from 7000 feet and no moisture.

I still love New Mexico and miss my friends;

but it is a different beauty here, full of water

and lots of family to help me through this resettling.

The role of Auntie is so much fun

I treasure this new chapter of my life.

Still working on the books for Healthy Kids New Mexico,

Just finished book 6 in the Dinky Raccoon series.

"Everyday life" will embrace the shared activities of  women,

and I have several big works in the planning; will keep posting...

Website will reflect new thoughts, email me: tonitruesdale@gmail.com

welcome thought, questions and feedback!

  

The Eternal Spinster: Ties That Bind

Connecting each to each...

The clever spider Goddess of the Ainu,

Entwines her fabric into the threads of life.

The Moirae: Atropas, Clotho and Lachesis

Spin, measure and cut each destiny.

The Arabic Fate sisters, too:

Marat, Allat and Al'uzza

Bind us to all that has been.

Nordic Frigga ravels and unravels human existence.

Ana of the most ancient Mideast created the world,

Interlacing the woof and warp of the universe;

As is the duty of the Spider Woman of the Dine.

Binding and unwinding Penelope rewove each day:

 Arachne leaves her tears on the everlasting web...

Moon spirits thread the Dayak,

Nais, Sumatran, Objiwa, Cherokee, Chinese and Egyptian stories

From continent to the islands;

Across the Earth.

Teutonic Holda and Bertha sew

The Textiles of Life;

Separating, severing and repairing...

Artemis, Athene, Aphrodite, all

Telling the tales of the wisdom of women

Endlessly;

From land to sky,

Creator to child,

Leaves to the wind...

The Legacies of  the eternal Spinstress.

copyright T. Truesdale 1998