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Epona

Author: Elizabeth Craig

I remember going over

a bridge with my father

The Clyde’s muddy waters

flowed swirling below

The everyday world

was left far behind us

and lying before us

the new and unknown

I remember a smiddy

a huge humid cavern

a hammer’s loud clang

metallic and sharp

A fire spitting sparks

to the breath of the bellows

the flicker of flames

in the unquiet dark

I remember a horse

that shone in the darkness

its coppery coat

reflecting the flames

its mane a corona

of light and of fire

backlit by the furnace

and flowing untamed

I remember the scorching

the smell and the smoke

the wild rolling eyes

as the horse tossed its head

the hot steaming shoes

hammered home by the smithy

my dad’s hug dispelling

my feelings of dread

I was only a child then

not knowing such words as

astonished amazed

or spiritualised

And nor did I know

that this numinous scene

would shine in my mind

for the rest of my life

Epona – Celtic / Roman Horse Goddess

© Betty Craig April 2022

A special comic adaptation of this story has been created for Book Week Scotland by Ver.

Read Ver's comic adaptation of Epona