Holly on the Old Oak 2011


Preface

Winter has come
You walk past the trees
Past their naked limbs
Over what was once a stone path
Now covered in snow
The hoofprints are freshly pressed
You follow beside them
Your feet leaving prints of their own
As if you had been walking together
But in truthful reality
You always have been walking together
You just don’t see them beside you

It is here that you find
An open place, a meeting ground
Where gatherings of the past had been
Where tale and truth had been passed down
You feel a chill in the breeze
And for a moment, you could have sworn
You heard your name spoken in the wind
Though you are here alone
You are being watched from afar
Always being protected
Your guardians are forever near
They will never abandon you



In the center of the place is a stone podium
And upon it is an old book
The words on the cover are faded,
But you can make out the words
Holly on the Old Oak
You gingerly open the old tome
And begin to read the first words
”Twelve stories told from the heart
Now presented to you, the reader, the one who came
Let the spirits of winter guide your soul
Let the lessons within be held true
And let the first tale begin…”