There is this ancient tradition. A pagan safe-guard.
Of paying for safe passage
Paying for the water to stay clear and benign
Of paying for safe passage through the realm of the fairy queen
Of pressing coins into fallen trees or posts alongside moving water
as a tribute or as an appeasement
In their thousands.
Fallen trees heavy with copper and nickel-plated steel
And strangely enough - people still pay
as did we
A strange, other-world place
a narrow almost claustrophobic valley
opening out to Janet (Jennet)'s Foss
the realm of queen of the fairies
As beautiful as it was, the cloying eeriness made me feel uneasy, it was a relief to rise out of the valley and climb across the dales up and away.
I do like your walks! I cannot believe those coins are still in the trees. It is a lovely idea and, pagan or not, I like it! Life would be too dull if there were not some quirky bits in it.
ReplyDeleteI do like your walks; I feel to joyful accompanying you on them (a bit like a shadow). I cannot believe those coins are still embedded in the tree trunks. I like the idea, pagan or not. Life would be a lot duller without some quirkiness in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having us along on your walk. Strange thing is that until I read the words, I thought what a lovely stream side view! It's kind of like in the movies certain music can make the same scene beautiful or ominious! We have beautiful White Swans coming down from the arctic to winter over in our fields, beautiful sight!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly do learn something new every day don't you! I never knew that about the coins, amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you!