It often seems that in our modern days there is no magic, no mystery, no more contact with the forces of the earth. It is still there, though, for those who can tap into its power.
These are the days
These are the days when magic dies,
Its mysteries no secrets hold
No more do earth’s old spirits rise,
No more are ancient stories told.
In latter days we live in lands
Bereft of strength, its power gone,
But there are some into whose hands
Is passed the gift that still lives on.
But even then it does not rise
In humdrum height of frantic day,
The source where nature’s force now lies
By modern man is kept at bay.
But in the still of morning skies,
Or dappled shades that slip to dark,
A deeper spirit stirs to rise
And on our being makes its mark.
For in that realm that forms the thread
That bonds us to the land of light,
That sleeping power is softly fed
By chosen souls in beauty bright.
And when you think that all is lost
Man’s tainted beast has won the day,
That is the time when glory shines
And ache of ages fades away.
A world once lost sings out in peace,
Its healing power in every soul,
Sweet songs of goodness never cease,
The broken circle now made whole.
David Oates is a Cornish bard who has published a history of Troon, entitled “Echoes of an Age”, a guide to Godrevy and Gwithian, “Walk the hidden ways” and a slim volume of his own verse, “Poems from the far west”. His unpublished work includes a reflection on a Cornish childhood, “What time do they close the gates, Mister?” and a fictionalised story for young people based on the extant life of St Gwinear, with the working title, “The son of a king”. David is working on another guide in the “Walk the hidden ways” series, entitled “Hard Rock country”.
David is a tenor singer with the well-known group, Proper Job based in mid- Cornwall and has collaborated with Portreath musician, Alice Allsworth, to write the lyrics for a number of songs about Cornwall and the Cornish.
