The Great Hall
Guests in the long hall, ancient,
now a home with two floors,
modernised, previously a farmhouse,
Nordic.
I was with my mother,
so glad to see her
it had been a wee while.
We were guests of the gods
disguised in human form.
Our host was head of the family
blonde, handsome.
We all sat squeezed
together on a large sofa.
My mother in the middle
next to me,
the blonde god to my right
telling us Nordic myths
in their original language.
Excited, I was able to pick out
words I recognised in English,
the vestiges of Viking Norse.
The saga was a long one,
we were nodding off.
Time to go to our rooms.
Helping my mother
along the narrow corridor
frail, unsteady
she lent against her stick.
I broke a glass
in the kitchen
fetching water.
The blonde god
came to help,
whispering in my ear that
he would wait
until dawn.
My mother was sat
on the top stair
also waiting patiently.
We embraced in the longest hug;
it was what I needed,
maternal love.
I felt so at home here,
a gift this summer solstice
from the gods
of the great hall.
SCM 2018
Summer solstice, June