Winternacht

Winternacht

written by: Freya Pickard

@FreyasClippings

year fades from sunlight and fecundity
deepens into darkness with absence of sun
transition from mildness to frost
from falling leaf to frozen corpse

on this day, Autumn becomes Winter
harvest ends and the hunt begins
draugar stalk the holway
ready for their deathly dance

in-between tree trunks
at the crossing of ways
where bat skitters, chitters
against occluded sky
a trick of the light
and shadows have eyes

indoors
the treated oak table
glares with bulging orbs
draugr spirit trapped in grain
yearning for release

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

Winternacht – the Nordic equivalent of Halloween/Samhain. It focuses on liminality – the in-between places where two worlds meet.

Draugar – revenants, re-animated corpses or barrow-dwellers in Norse legend. The singular of Draugar is Draugr.

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• About
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Freya Pickard

JULY 2022 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com

Pushcart Prize nominee, Freya Pickard, is the quirky, unusual author of The Kaerling series, an epic fantasy set in the strange and wonderful world of Nirunen. A cancer survivor, she writes mainly dark fantasy tales and creates expressive poetry in order to leach the darkness from her soul. Her aim in life is to enchant, entertain and engage with readers through her writing. She finds her inspiration in the ocean, the moors, beautifully written books and vinyl music (particularly heavy metal and rock). She enjoys Hatha Yoga, Bhangra and Yogalates and in her spare time creates water colours and pastel drawings of the worlds in her head.

Latest posts by Freya Pickard (see all)

• Winternacht - November 2, 2024
• Human Race - August 22, 2024
• Splintered - December 3, 2022