Fa – the Green Dragon

A Place for the Odd Musings of an Expat Bristolian

The Man with the Rowan Rod

7 Comments

 

This is another piece from the box of stuff I found waiting to be unpacked in my garage.

The Man with the Rowan Rod

 

He came to visit me today,

He brought his Rowan rod.

Hereabouts it’s called a fé.

When asked if that was Irish? All he did was nod.

He took my measure top to toe.

He had a grim and solemn take

He did this twice before he could go

To find the wood with which to make

My suit of fir which I would wear

With other souls who’d gone before

To the space beneath the turf I’d share.

So now I sit and wait for God,

I‘ve seen the man with the Rowan rod.

I even looked him in the eye.

He wished to speak, I could see.

At which he let out one long sigh.

He asked a question what shall I do

When my time comes, who do you

think with measure me?

Don’t worry about length or breadth I said

Upon this earth we made our bed

The time will come for us to answer

For all the stuff that we have done to others and alone

Sins for which we must atone.

I’ve confessed my sins to God

So I’ll be fine beneath the sod.

Go now and confess at least

What you remember to a priest

And he’ll have some words to say

He’ll even tell you what to pray,

As penance for forgiveness of your faults.

And when you reach the Pearly gates,

Just reach up and ring the bell.

Peter will check you in his book and the gates will open wide

Peter then will ask of you, why don’t you come inside?

On earth you measured souls and you did measure well

So much so my friend you saved them all from hell.

Your solemn look and words you spoke

Had great effect on all the folk

You met before my angel called on them to say

Before your maker you will go today.

It caused them in their last moments to give some thought

To the life that they had led.

But what really saved them

were the words that you said.

Repent the end is nigh!

Today you’ll meet your lord and God

In his kingdom up on high.

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Author: Cethru Cellophane

I have reached the regrettable realization that I may have squandered my life. I did a quick count recently and figured that I have visited about 66 countries, and lived for more than 3 years in 3 of them. During this time I completed 14 corporate moves (relocations) and have changed my address more than 23 times. I should have settled on a profession that would have kept me in one place with no packing and unpacking. When I think of the time I have spent bundling my life into and out of boxes. Ah well, it's all water under the bridge. But I am grateful for the experience. At the end of the day I will be able to say with a certain authority, "been there, done that". A note about this site’s Header Image The Header image for this site is of the Smith Avenue High Bridge. The bridge was built in 1889 and carries Minnesota State Highway 149 across its span of 2770 feet, 160 feet above the mighty Mississippi River. The picture was taken from the river looking to the north-east and downtown Saint Paul. The bridge is about 1040 miles from New Orleans. One of the reasons I like this view is that I come from a city which has a spectacular bridge. It’s the Clifton Suspension Bridge http://www.ikbrunel.org.uk/clifton-suspension-bridge which spans the Avon Gorge and the River Avon in Bristol, U.K. It’s about 1350 feet long and stands 245 feet above the river below. Sadly it has claimed the lives of more than 400 people who have committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. As a side note, not all attempts were successful. two small girls thrown off the bridge by their deranged father survived the fall when they were fished from the river by the crew of a passing pilot boat. The bridge was opened in 1864 and was designed by the 24 year old architect, Isambard Kingdom brunel. It took 35 years to complete.

7 thoughts on “The Man with the Rowan Rod

  1. I really enjoyed this, very clever and different 🙂🤔

    Like

    • Why aren’t you in Bed?
      But thank you, I ‘m so glad you liked this . I have been digging deeper today and finding all sorts of stuff that I had forgotten I wrote.

      Liked by 2 people

  2. Wonderful poem! I’m glad you dug it up.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. If I come across them I have some that I think you will like. They are all about fish and chips.

    Like

  4. I like this. A great story.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for your comment. I’m digging through boxes of stuff that have no seen the light of day in almost 20 years. What fun on cold wintery days.

      Liked by 1 person

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