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Editor’s note: THE HOLLY AND OAK KINGS are probably still locked in battle, as we roll toward the end of the Summer Solstice, but Alicia’s gorgeous poem about all four seasons will keep us in the magical mood!
Winter Requiem
fairy folk gather
beside a fresh grave
snowflakes and tears
glisten on their faces
winged tribe grieves
for the Elm King
Spring Equinox
a hillside covered in
bluebells crocus freesia
fragrant blossoms assuage
the Elm Queen’s grief
Sultry Beltane
fairies build a bonfire
the Elm Queen’s mage
tosses herbs on the blaze
smoke smells like magic
and hope they sing ballads
celebrate spring
Summer Solstice
fairy folk link hands
encircle a sacred elm chant
courtship spells songbirds
echo their incantations
Autumn Equinox
fairy folk gather under
a canopy of elm leaves
amidst a storm they paint
symbols on sacred tree
rising gale shrieks a face
appears in the clouds
Lightning Strike
severs the tree trunk
inside the elm a fairy
awakens new Elm King
greets his bride.
Alicia Hilton is an author, law professor, arbitrator, actor, and former FBI Special Agent. She believes in angels and demons, magic and monsters. Alicia’s recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Best Indie Speculative Fiction Volume 3, Daily Science Fiction, Demain Publishing UK, Departure Mirror, DreamForge, Enchanted Conversation, Litro, Neon, Sci Phi Journal, Space and Time, Vastarien, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 4, 5 & 6, and elsewhere.
Image by Elisabeth Sonrel