Dark nights

Gather round the fire,

Look not into the shadows.

Listen to the words

That distract you from the dark.

Here's a tale spun,

A tall and lofty yarn,

Or wisdom disguised

In stories and rhymes

Huddle with your clan

Faces lit with leaping flame

All agog and rapt

Beneath the starry sky

The elders are spinning

Bringing magic into being

With words and gestures

Songs, sagas, verse and rhyme

The darkness comes early

The day ends fast

We work in the light

And rest when sun is down

This is the time

The time when we learn

The time we remember

And the time when we dream

Listen to the words

That rise to the sky in sparks

As they fall from the lips

Of tale tellers all

As we gather round the fire

Faces warm but we shiver

As we hear the stories

That have been passed

From long ago