Ash And Rowan

She tied red thread around the gate
Whispered prayers I thought were fate
Said "don't let envy near your bed"
Then kissed my brow and bowed her head

She burned the ash to clear the room
Swept the floor beneath the moon
Left milk out on Imbolc's night
And told me fear can birth the light

I used to laugh, say it was lore
But I don't laugh like that no more

I tied your name to a rowan tree
So no curse could follow me
Lit the fire the old way taught
With the breath of every battle fought
This world forgets what we once knew
But I remember - because of you

Now I trace signs in window steam
For things I've lost and things I dream
I wear the ring she wore at birth
Like a compass carved in earth

They say we're past all that old fear
But I still feel them standing near

I tied your name to a rowan tree
So no curse could follow me
Lit the fire the old way taught
With the breath of every battle fought
This world forgets what we once knew
But I remember, because of you

Ash to bind, and rowan to burn
Every daughter has to learn
You can leave, but you still turn
To where the sacred roots return

I tied your name to a rowan tree
So love could still remember me
Lit the fire the old way taught
With every truth our mothers brought
This world forgets, but I hold true
And I remember, because of you