Follow the leader

Good morning dear friends and followers today I present to you another one of my poems. A poem that is about life, the dark side and the light side, and also about love and hope

Follow the leader

The tangled thread,

the tumultuous clash of humans,

characters and moods flaring,

everyone seeing

from a different set of eyes

like the tumult of fear-crazed,

stampeding buffalo

running to their deaths

over the cliffs edge.

Too blind to see where they go,

so it would seem,

or too stupid to know the difference.

Some see gloom and darkness,

black and gray. 

Some see the light

in all it's magnificent

prism of colors, they glow.

Human relations?

A meat grinder has no preference.

It will devour big and small;

nothing stands in it's way.

It's the behemoth of modern society;

Always hungry and lurking for prey.

It is the beast of the night

dressed as angels through the day.

We came forth to be

the keepers of the garden

Now the garden lays barren,

abandoned by its keepers.

Those who were entrusted,

to it's keeping care

have forsaken and abandoned it

in the chase for riches and power.

Neglected, we realize what has been lost.

Our hearts long for a day of peace,

where love rules supreme.

To create a pretty tapestry of life

With colors so bright

and woven with love.

Egos and greed

and jealousies that breed

will fall to the side.

Trampled emotions, xenophobic creeds

will be no more.

When love rules supreme,

there will be again harmony,

in the heavenly spheres.

Composed by Cynthia ©

Thank you very much for dropping in and I do hope you have found the legend of the day an interesting topic to read. You are very welcome to share your thought sand ideas and hope you will be back again.

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady ✿ڰۣ❤

FRIZZY LIZZY TIME

“

Hi dear friends and followers. Yes it's that time again, It's Saturday and you know what that means. It's Frizzy Lizzy time,  

Oh! Hi there, be with you in a moment!”
Frizzy Lizzy shuffles out of the bedroom and across the kitchen floor in her fuzzy slippers and sits heavily on one of the kitchen chairs. The chair squeaks alarmingly but she settles down, both she and the chair remaining in one piece.

After taking a generous drink from her coffee, she sets her mug back down onto the table.

“I was up again early this morning. Must be my 'inner child' playing with matches. Heavens no! This time it was global warming! Given the way that I was sweating, you might think that Mother Nature was giving me a hot bath.”

“A few nights ago I was at my favorite bar with a couple of friends of mine. The topic came up about how it would be so nice to have the body of a 21 year old again. I agreed and told them it was possible. Provided you buy him a few drinks first!

“Well that's the way it is, you know. Wishful thinking won't get you anywhere but the price of a few beers just might do the trick.

“Now that it's back-to-school time I'm at a decision point in my life. I need to decide what to do with my free time. I could go back to school and get a degree in basket weaving or some other simple field. Or I could get a job working as a school bus driver, a teacher's assistant, or in the school cafeteria.”

“Jobs are not that plentiful around here. Sure, there are others. I could be a greeter at Wal Mart but I have this thing called ethics that keeps me from working for them.

I could try a position at McDonald's but with the way those people rin around during lunch time the position that I'd soon have is out the door because I know that I couldn't keep up with them.

And there's always a job as an aide to a nurse's assistant at a local nursing home but after a few hours of helping to lift residents, mopping floors, pushing carts, and making-up beds, I'd be too tempted to sleep in one! Besides that, I'll be in one of those places soon enough anyway!”

“If all else fails I suppose that I could see if any of the other stores have openings but retail just isn't my thing. The first customer to ask me, 'Oh miss, do you work here?' might get an answer that they weren't expecting.

Anyway, that's what's rolling around in my head this morning. If you feel like talking to me and giving me your opinion, should I look for a job or go back to school, I would thank you for your help.

What's that I hear? Is it my knight on his iron horse in the driveway? That's my romantic way of saying that I hear my latest boyfriend outside on his motorcycle. He rides a Harley Soft Tail, and given the way that I feel today, the softer, the better!

I'd better finish dressing! Fast!

Thank you very much for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend, and please don't forget to tell me – school or work, OK?”

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady ✿ڰۣ❤

Norse Mythology Dragon's or Great Serpents

Norse Mythology Dragon's or Great Serpents

Good morning dear friends and followers today we explore the legends of the Norse - Viking dragons.

TToday's offering is something different. It's about the dragons of Viking or Nordic folklore. I wish that I could take credit for this research but, alas, someone beat me to it. However, all of the remarks in the introductory paragraphs are all mine!

If you're scratching your head about the existence of dragons among the Norsemen you need scratch no more. Look no further than the prows of their boats. Their sturdy boats, developed over centuries of sailing in the rough northern seas that surround Norway and Sweden, carried the head of a dragon carved upon their prows.

Norse mythology recognizes three types of dragons, or great serpents.

- The Firedrake is the dragon that Beowulf fought his final battle with as the aging hero died of his wounds. The dragon is described as being winged and having fire-breathing abilities. 

Beowulf, written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D., describes the adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. It is one of the oldest surviving epics. A slave stumbles into the dragon's hoard and steals a cup, and this infuriates the dragon so much that it sets fire to the local district. Beowulf, having enjoyed 50 years of his reign as king, sets out with his young warriors in pursuit and challenges the dragon to a combat that proves to be fatal for both of them.

- Nidhogg or Nidhoggr [also known as the "Dread Biter"] was one of the most feared of the early Nordic dragons. He lived at the foot of the world ash tree, Yggdrasil. The tree had three great roots, one of which reached over the freezing mist and darkness of Niflheim where Hel reigned as Queen of the Norse 

Underworld. Nidhogg could also be found at Hvergelmir [the bubbling cauldron], the spring in Niflheim which is the source of all the rivers of the world. Nidhogg was a dragon that devoured the corpses of evil-doers, and he would gnaw at the roots of Yggdrasil when he got tired of the taste of dead flesh. Since the world tree supported all life and Nidhogg attempted to destroy it, Nidhoggr was personified as evil itself.

Both Yggdrasil and Nidhogg were destined to survive the final catastrophe of Ragnarok, the doom of the gods and ultimately, the end of the world. Fires and floods would not deter the dragon from its incessant feasting on the boundless supply of the dead.

- Jormungand or Jormungandr [the Migard/World Serpent] is the world serpent that lies in the seas with its tail in its mouth, encircling the land and creating the oceans. In Norse mythology it was the serpent son of Loki, god of fire, and brother of Fenrir and Hel.

Odin arranged for these monstrous children to be kidnapped and brought to Asgard. He threw Jormungand into the icy ocean, where he grew to such a monstrous size that he encircled Midgard [the world of men], eventually bitings its own tale and hence becoming known as the Midgard Serpent. This links Jormungand to Ouroboros, the Egyptian cyclic serpent. At Ragnarok he would meet and be slain by his arch-rival, Thor. Thor would also die - by Jormungand's venom.

- Fafnir was the son of the magician Hreidman, who had been corrupted by a cursed ring called Andvarinaut. He lusted after his father's rings, and with the help of his brother, Regin, they killed him. Fafnir's greed grew to be so great, that it not only made him monstrous in nature, but also monstrous in form. He was turned into a terrible dragon. Over a period of time, he managed to collect a massive number of treasures and vigilantly guarded this hoard. This drew many a valiant hero to his lair in search of both wealth and fame.

Most of them however, met their untimely deaths by the dragon's fiery breath. There was one hero though, who did manage to outwit the dragon. That hero was Sigurd*, who was guided by Regin and armed only with his father's sword. However despite his heroic deed which won him fame and fortune, his life from then on was said to be ruined by the curse that came with the ill-fated treasures.

* Sigurd, better known as Siegfried [German], was one of the great heroes depicted in the early European Teutonic and Old Norse literature. Whether he was a historical figure or merely a legendary one is unknown. Some scholars believe that behind the legends there was a real person who lived sometime during the Merovingian Dynasty (481-750), which is now France. In most stories he appears as the leading character, a triumphant, dragon-slaying hero of courage and strength.

References:

Books -

1. Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology by Arthur Cotterell & Rachel Storm

2. Dragons: A Natural History by Dr. Karl Shuker

Websites -

> Beowulf; 6.The Fire-Drake

Not surprising there would be dragon legends among the Viking as they spent much of their lives plying the seas. In my opinion, if there were any dragon's about they would have been quite disposed in seeing them plying the seas. 

Thank you very much for dropping in and I do hope you have found the legend of the day an interesting topic to read. You are very welcome to share your thought sand ideas and hope you will be back again.

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady ✿ڰۣ❤

WHY THE INDIAN LOVES HIS DOG

Hi dear friends and followers, once again I invite you once more to The stories The Iroquois told their children. There are few relationships that are as simple as they might appear to the casual observer. This story is about one of them.

WHY THE INDIAN LOVES HIS DOG

The dog is the Indian's best friend. He is the comrade by day and the protector by night. As long as the Indian's dog has strength, he will fight for his friend.

The Indian says this is how the dog came to take his part.

An Indian and his dogs went into the woods to hunt. It was in the days when dogs and men could talk together, and each understood the language of the other.
When they reached the woods, the dogs began to talk with the Indian. They told him many wonderful things about the woods, which he did not know. They taught him many tricks of the chase: how to scent and track the game, and where to look for trails.

The man listened to what the dogs said, and he did as they told him. Soon the sledge which the dogs had drawn to the woods was piled high with deer and other game.

Never had the Indian's arrows brought him so much game. Never had he met with such success in hunting. He was so pleased that he said to the dogs, “Always shall I talk with you, give ear to what you say, and be one of you.”

“Ah, but listen!” said the dogs. “If you wish to be one of us you must live under the law of dogs, not men. Animals have different laws from those of men. When two dogs meet for the first time, they try their strength to see which is the better dog.”

“Men do not fight when strangers meet, they shake hands. As we fight strange dogs, so you, too, must fight strange men, to see which is the best man, – if you are to live under the law of dogs.”

The man said he would think it over and at sunrise give his answer. Indians always sleep before deciding a question.

Next morning, the man said he would live under the law of animals and fight strange men.

The following day the man made ready to leave the woods. From the basswood he made a strong harness for the dogs so they could draw the load of game back to camp for him.

When the sun was high, the man and the dogs started with the sledge load of game. They had not gone far before they saw two strange Indians coming.

“Now,” said the dogs to the man, “remember you are living under the dog's law. You must fight these strange men.”
The man attacked first one Indian and then the other. At last both turned on him and when they left him, he was nearly dead. At this, the dogs took a hand. They leaped upon the Indians and drove them from the woods. Then they came back to where their friend lay on the ground, and began to talk with him and lick his face.

The man could not speak for some time, but when his voice came to him, he said to the dogs, “No longer do I wish to live under the law of animals. No more shall I fight strangers. From this time, I shall shake hands with strangers and bid them welcome. From this time, I shall be a man and live under the law of men.”

“Then,” said the dogs sadly, “we shall no longer be able to talk with you, and tell you the things that we know. But we will always stand by you. We will be your friends and will fight for you, when you need us as you did today.”

This is why the Indian and his dog are now unable to speak each other's language. This is also why an Indian's dog will fight to the death for his friend.

Not only is the dog a true friend to the Indian in this world, but in the next as well. It seems that the soul of an Indian on its journey to the Happy Hunting Ground must cross a deep, swift-running stream. On either side of this dark river, there stand two dogs who hold in their teeth a great log upon which the souls pass.

The soul of the Indian who has been kind to his dog crosses the log easily, for the dogs stand guard. As the soul of such an Indian reaches the river, they say, “This Indian was kind to his dog. He gave him of his own food, and the dog always had a warm place by his fire. We will help this Indian to cross.”

Then the dogs grip the log firmly in their teeth and hold it steadily while the soul of the Indian passes over.

But if the soul of an Indian who has been unkind to his dog comes to the river, the dogs say, “This man was cruel to his dog. He gave his dog no place by the fire, he beat him, he let him go hungry. This man shall not cross.”

Then the dogs grip the log lightly in their teeth, and when the soul of the unkind Indian is half way across, they turn it quickly to one side, and the soul is thrown into the deep, dark, river.

Many an Indian has been kind to his dog, that he might make sure of a safe crossing on that log.

Thank you very much for dropping in to visit and hope you enjoyed the story, and you're feedback is always very welcomed on this blog.

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady ✿ڰۣ❤

The Unsuspecting Elven Prince

Hi my dear friends and followers, today I want to share with you one of my poems about the unsuspecting elven prince. Thank you for coming and enjoy the read  ❤❤

The Unsuspecting Elven Prince

Somewhere in the land between worlds,

there, lived a lonely elf.

He sat on a large boulder contemplating his life,

and daydreaming once again of a different place;

wherein he dreamed of someone special,

to share his heart and farm and life.

Who would take his work-worn hand?

She, in his dreams, a princess grand,

would take a poor farmer elf,

in her hand as her husband to be.

Far away in another land between worlds,

there, was a maiden, princess of Thull.

She had all for which she could wish.

There she sat, on the groomed lawn,

before her home, Castle Rawen.

She was lonely with a heart so blue,

longing for a prince from a far-away land

to come and take her in his hands.

Absently, she stared at the creek,

tears tracing their way down her cheeks.

Her longing was great;

It consumed all her thoughts.

She stood, and lifting her gown she ran,

ran from the grounds of the Castle Rawen.

To where? Just run, she did not care.

With a heart full of turmoil she fled,

unknowingly into the enchanted woods;

a forbidden land for those of Thull

Where demons and witches ruled

and misdeeds were a daily, common event.

Fatigued, she wandered, not knowing where at.

'til she lay at the feet of a large shade-tree.

Whilst she slept, the spirits of the enchanted forest

came to dance, dancing 'round her in a circle,

around the fair maiden, Princess of Thull.

As the Princess awakened, she sat;

Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands

she looked to the forest before her.

The forest had changed while she had been napping.

The shade tree behind her turned into a sapling!

Out of a field of tall grass

undulating in the summer breeze,

like waves on surface of a lake,

there came a dark and rugged form.

A tall commoner surely was he,

a very handsome commoner indeed!

And he spoke: "I have come for thee, my lady,

To take you home with me.

“Will you take my hand, my princess

my princess of my dreams come true?"

The princess was stricken by the commoner's mien,

Never had she met a man such as he!

“Yes, I will come gladly with thee!”

Through the tall grass she flew,

to embrace the commoner;

and it was bliss.

Then she fell under a spell of warmth and caring;

“He's not a commoner but a prince of elves, by sharing.”

In the land of between worlds

she cared not where he hailed.

And both the Prince of Elves,

and the Princess of Thull

danced on a cushion of air,

In the land of rainbow light.

One can still see them dance,

in the mist of waterfalls and fountains,

and upon rainbows in the heavens above,

Or through the northern lights,

in the frozen polar night.

Written by Cynthia 

©

Thank you fore coming to read this poem I have written for you. Comments are very much welcomed,  please share your thoughts with us

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady ✿ڰۣ❤

WHY CROWS ARE POOR

Good morning dear friends and followers

.I'm back from my Labor Day “mini-vacation” and ready to share another of the Iroquois Wonder Stories with you. This one is about the crow and contains all of the elements of a teaching tale.
WHY CROWS ARE POOR

After the Great Spirit had made the Red Children and had given them this beautiful land in which to live, he sent them a great gift, – the gift of the corn.

Ga gaah, the Crow, claims it was he who brought this gift. He says he was called to the wigwam of the Great Spirit in the sky. A grain of corn was placed in his ear, and he was told to carry it to Earth, to the Red Children.

Therefore, as Ga Gaash brought the gift, he claims he has a right to pull what corn he needs. Ga gaah says he does not “steal” corn. He simply takes what belongs to him, his rightful share.

And surely Ga gaah is not greedy! He never takes more corn than he wants for himself. He never hides or stores it away. He takes just what he wishes to eat at the time, and no more, for crows never think of tomorrow.

In summer, they are happy in the cornfields, guarding the roots from insect enemies, and pulling the tender blades whenever they are hungry.

But when winter comes, the crows are sad. Many councils are held. Sometimes a council tree will be black with crows. All are so poor and so hungry, that they want to get together to try to plan a better way to live.

There is much noise and confusion at a crow council, for all the crows talk at once. All are saying, “No bird is so poor as the crow; he is always hungry. Next summer, let us plant and raise a big crop of corn, and gather it and save it for the winter. Next winter, the crows will not be hungry; they will have food.

“We will no longer take from the fields of the Red Children just enough corn for a meal today. We will raise our own corn, and lay by a store for the winter.”

And having agreed that this is a wise plan, the council ends.

A few days later, another council will be called. At this the crows will plan how and where to plant the corn. Some will be appointed to select a field, others to find the seed, and still others to plant and tend the corn.

But, alas! When spring comes, and the skies are blue, and the sun shines warm, the crows forget the hunger of the winter, and the councils in the tree. They remember only that the skies are blue, and the sun shines warm, and now there is plenty of corn.

Happy and content, they walk up and down the fields of the Red Children.

“We have all we want today,” they say, “Why should we think of tomorrow, or next winter? We had a good meal this morning, and we are sure of one tonight. Is this not enough for a crow? What more can he ask?”

And the next winter comes, and finds the crows as poor and as hungry as they were the last. Again they are holding noisy councils in the council tree. Again they are laying plans for a great crop of corn that they will raise next summer!

Thank you for dropping by to read todays posting on  this Native American legend. I wish you all a beautiful day. Comments, thoughts and queries are always welcome. Thank you.

✿ڰۣ❤ In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady✿ڰۣ❤

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day

Today is Labor Day in the United States and Canada. On this day we see the unofficial end of summer, the start of a new school year, the end of the vacation season, and we have a weekend of just good fun. We go to fish fries, barbecues, pitch horseshoes, drink a few beers, take the boat out (if we own one) or have our last fling on the beach, or maybe go camping. Regardless of what we do, we want to have fun doing it.

Maybe we should take the time to reflect on all those who make this weekend and its attendant fun possible and give them their proper thanks. The line of those to whom we owe thanks is a mite longer than most of us believe it is.

We can start with those in our families, and our friends, who are always there to care and share and make every weekend that much better.

OK, now let's look at some others without whom this Labor Day weekend would not be possible.

There are men and women on-duty to assure us that the Internet, water, electricity, water, gas, propane, sewage, and telephone systems are delivering that upon which we have become so dependent – and so accustomed.

Then we have a group that I call the “public safety services:” police, fire, EMT, and emergency room medical services. And let's not forget the nurses who staff our hospitals, rehabs, and nursing homes this weekend and every weekend.

Today you might need groceries or gas. You can buy it because there is someone at work to fill your needs. You can probably go to many other stores to shop because someone is there, for the profit motive to be sure, but they profit from serving the public.

Labor Day is a relatively new celebration. Saint Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in 1737. The first Labor Day was celebrated in America on September

5, 1882.

The gathering of working people to parade and celebrate their labors was not looked upon by the police, factory owners, industrialists, and other oligarchs of that day as benign. Follow this link and you'll see:

http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history-daze.htm

It took the organizing efforts of champions of labor like Terrence V. Powderly,

Terrence V. Powderly

Samuel Gompers, 

John L. Lewis, Eugene V. Debs, Mother Jones, Walter Reuther, and A. Philip Randolph to bring organized business and management to the bargaining table.

It also took the blood and lives of men and women in actions like the Lattimer Massacre, the Hay Market Riots, Pullman Strike, Homestead Strike,

Anthracite Strikes, and the Ford Motor Company Strike of 1937. In those days the state governments and legislatures were controlled by the large corporations and it was a common practice to meet strikers with armed troops, like the State Police, the Coal and Iron Police (in Northeastern Pennsylvania), a company's private police force, Pinkerton detectives and agents, paid strikebreakers, or a posse of whomever was available for deputation by the local sheriff.

Coal miners, steel workers, auto workers, Pullman car porters, locomotive engineers and other railway workers, textile workers, longshoremen – you name it, they probably had a job action.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

• Frederick Douglass

It was a long, hard, bloody journey from a workplace in which your children as young as 5 or 6 worked at the same place as you did, working a 12-hour day, 6 days a week, with no sick leave, vacation, health insurance. Back then there wasn't even Workers' Compensation Insurance to cover at-work injuries. You were on your own without a safety net of any kind.

So today take a minute and think of how different life would be without things like a living wage for a fair day's work, a reasonably safe workplace, job security, paid holidays, paid sick leave, and fringe benefits.

The fight's not over yet. There are still so many of us working to raise a family or pay our rent on multiple minimum wage jobs with no benefits. Let's not forget them.

Thanks for taking the time to let me share these thoughts with you.

HAVE A FUN LABOR DAY 2014!