Homage to Cernunnos

I saw you watching from the edge of the thicket
Waving your antlered head in acknowledgement of my thoughts
Were you drawn perhaps by the music?
The sense of worship?
The wonder at the need for sacrifice
But the absence of an answer
Forgetting the new life bursting
Certain within their own containment
Thick walls, Templar built
Sunk into the ground
Marking their territory
Defining their own need for glory
Whilst forgetting yours.

Only I whispered blessings to the spirits of place
Honouring the years of worship
Letting my mind travel back to the wattle church of the Saxons
To the open sacred place beside the stream
Beheld you standing there, watching
The faint smile on your lips bestowing certainty
The knowledge that all things return to you
Given time, space and opportunity
Then, as we journeyed homewards,
A deer sprang across our path
Sure-footed, not distracted by our man-made lights
Secure in the twilight to complete the journey
A message confirming my own misgivings
You saw me there.