The Corn King

How did I get here? What am I doing here?
Face up on the hard, dry earth
Blinking into the Sun and the clear blue sky
Seeping crimson from my wound.

A face, soft and warm, fills my vision
Holds the scythe that has quickened my death.
She smiles a smile so full of love and the crows call my name.
And I too smile as my lifeblood softens the earth
Feeds the earth, as my body will feed the people.

I was born of the light, a candle in the darkness
And cared for by millions I grew and found my mate
In the greenwood we played, and laughed, and made love
And our cries of ecstasy sent animals to find each other
And their cries woke the Spirits of the Land.

I grew from green to gold in the fields,
As the eye of light gently changed me and I grew old.
A bearded gent with a crooked cane.
Stroked by the caress of the breath of the earth
Until, hair flaming my mate called me,
And cut me down.
And beat me from my body,
And ground me to dust.

So now I return to the earth,
And hear the baying of the Hounds of Annwn.
Arawn, take my soul into your arms
and let me sleep, gently, in the cold, dark earth
Until I feel the spark of light once more.
Calling me to be reborn.