Sue Mackrell
A Michaelmas gift left on my doorstep, snowdrop corms wrapped in golden brown tissue. I plant them among tree roots, each in its soft earth hollow, biding time between winter solstice and Imbolc when earth quickens, sharp-tipped shoots pierce frozen earth and milk-white translucent moonstone lanterns arch on impossibly slender stems. (Imbolc is an ancient Celtic festival celebrated on 1st February)
My Welsh inheritance has informed my respect and reverence for the natural world. As I write we are approaching Lammas, on 1st August – the name means ‘Loaf Mass’ and is a celebration of the first cutting of grain –a time of relief and joy when a failed harvest meant starvation. The last 18 months have underlined how much my own mental well being is rooted in the rhythms of the seasons. In my garden I nurture plants which attract bees, butterflies and insects, a miniscule contribution to restoring environmental balance but one which gives me great solace.
Sue Mackrell lives in Leicestershire, UK, and has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. Now retired, she has taught and facilitated creative writing courses and workshops in universities, colleges and schools as well in museums, art galleries, hospitals and prisons. Her poems have been published widely in print, including regularly in Agenda Poetry and recent online poems can be found, on https://www.wordsforthewild.co.uk sue mackrell and https://www.ekphrastic.net/apps/search?q=sue+mackrell
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