and who am I and what is he?
and how will I keep this unborn child?
are we not all changelings?
we dwell half in night’s shades,
half in sun dappled waters–
and who am I and what is he?
far away in ancient song,
and never and always, becoming three–
and how will I keep this unborn child?
green earth or deep green sea–
our very being vibrates between–
are we not all changelings?
A cascade poem for dVerse, where De has us considering sea people. I’ve used the Child Ballad, The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry, as inspiration. The artwork was done for a previous poem on the same subject.
There are so many beautiful versions of this song. It has been recorded by Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Maddy Prior, June Tabor, Roger McGuinn and Solas among others. Below are 2 very different recordings, by Steeleye Span, and Port.
K. 
A beautiful retelling of the Childe Ballad. Thanks for sharing these two versions. You’re right, so different, but both are beautiful. The first I heard of the silkie legend was from listening to Joan Baez sing this song. It struck me as being so sad–not just the ending, but the way the mother was treated, too. “Your nurse’s fee” always makes me angry, but you give a different perspective.
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Thanks Merril. Yes, the view of a woman as a vessel for childbearing, whose rights are superceded by those of the man, still persists. As you know from your studies only too well.
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What a beautiful song. Thank you so much for posting this…..just lovely.
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Thanks Lillian. All those old ballads still haunt.
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“…and aren’t we all changelings?” Something to think about
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Indeed. Thanks Beverly.
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green earth or deep green sea?
A difficult question indeed and its hard to give an answer. The ballad songs are beautiful and magical to listen to.
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Thanks Grace. I think the sea calls to us all.
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A ballad poem extraordinaire; you rocked the prompt. I still listen to Joni Mitchell, but haven’t heard Joan Baez in many moons.
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Thanks Glenn. I still return to the traditional music of my youth. But Joni, of course, is always in play.
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Quite the story told of the great silkie. I listened to both selections and liked both, but the first one had the power of magic in it. I wonder if they are all sisters? They sound like sirens singing together!
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Thanks Jade. I could not find any information about those women, but they are certainly attuned to each other and the music. Their singing grabbed hold of me right away.
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You’re welcome. Maybe the women are silkies who came to dry land to sing, then went back to the sea….
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Quite possible.
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Goodness. How beautiful. The songs, and your gentle poetic questions. “Are we not all changlings,” indeed.
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Thanks De. I first learned all those traditional ballads 50 years ago and the echoes of them still haunt.
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Just so lovely, hope she keeps the child safe after all.
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Thanks Vandana. I hope so too.
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That’s so beautiful. I guess many women have asked that question, over the centuries. It’s so wistful. the art work is gorgeous, too.
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Thanks Sarah. I think you are right.
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A delightful cascade poem, Kerfe! I love the source of inspiration, the sort of music I was listening to around forty years ago when I lived in Ireland, and, as always, I love your artwork. The questions anchor the subject to the structure, and the number of lines in each stanza to the idea of ‘becoming three’. My favourite lines, so beautiful, are:
‘we dwell half in night’s shades,
half in sun dappled waters’.
Yes, are we not all changelings?
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Thanks Kim. That was the music of my youth too. I’m often surprised when people in their 30s and 40s don’t know traditional music at all. The stories still resonate.
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The story is timeless, beautiful and tragic, and the artwork is a dream.
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Thanks Jane. I did the artwork originally for one of your prompts way back when.
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If it’s good, it lasts 🙂
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I was always fond of this one.
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Rightly so.
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By the way, I love Christy Moore but I wasn’t sure why you posted this one about the Fifth International Brigade, tremendous song as it is.
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I posted 2 versions of the child ballad…I don’t know how you ended up with Christy Moore!
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WP does weird things sometimes. If it had been a ballad in a similar vein, but the Spanish Civil War????? Maybe it knows I’m a bigger fan of Christy Moore than Joni Mitchell 🙂
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I’ve been having some strange “substitutions ” with email attachments too. The internet is playing with us.
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I hate it when Outlook ‘suggests’ attachments I might want to send. Can’t it mind it’s own business?
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The spelling “corrections” are annoying too.
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I don’t get those on the computer, only on the phone. They can be hilarious.
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This is gorgeous work K. I’m saving this to read later
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Thanks Jude. These old stories are rich.
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My pleasure K
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I had never heard of the Childe Ballads and of course not The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry. That’s what I love about poetry. It makes me dig deeper. Thank you for this lovely poem (are we not all changelings – I think yes) and for the pleasure of learning more.
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Thanks Debi. I like all the new things we learn from each other through poetry too.
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Very interesting poem and art work! Beautiful song!
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It is! Thanks.
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To me your repeated question on changelings sets up wonderful reciprocity between humans and selkies.
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Thanks Bjorn. Everything is connected after all.
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Your cascade works perfectly, with the questions adding mystery to the art.
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Thanks Ken. Those old stories resonate.
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