I realize there are many members of Enchanted Folk who have had personal experiences with the Fae. I also know there are quite a few of you who channel faeries through your art, music or writing. Now, I would not tell this story to just anybody, but I know you  Believe.

Over time, it seems I have developed a rapport with what I call the spirits of place in the park I have visited for years. It is there that I feel most at home, and there that I have had several Fae experiences. For me, spirits of place include both the nature spirits associated with guarding and nurturing a particular location and the older beings that comprise the essence of a place, its breath and life. I consider all to be Fae, or of the Faerie Realm.

On the surface, Forest Park is like many small town parks. There is a swimming pool and playground area for children. There is even a festive carousel, complete with brightly colored horses and band organ music. With all of the commotion and human activity, you would think the park would be devoid of Fae, but perhaps they are curious about the lilting music and attracted by the laughing children.

I feel the Fae watching me at the park entrance and especially along the wilder woodland fringes. There is also a little hill that I call Robin's Ridge because of the many robins that congregate there. When they cock their heads and regard me, I get the distinct impression that they are not really birds at all, but something far older and more perceptive.

I believe the Fae of Forest Park have chosen to communicate with me because they have become familiar with my presence. They have seen me from the time I was a little girl playing on the swings. As a teenager, I traipsed through crispy Autumn leaves there on romantic walks with my boyfriend, and I now live close to the park and walk the trails almost every day. I often pick up discarded cans or paper along the way, and I sometimes leave unsalted nuts and sunflower seeds or bits of homemade cornbread and cookies as offerings.

It was on one of these excursions that the following poem was given to me. I was alone in the back of the park one evening, and darkness was beginning to creep in. I thought, it's getting late; I should go back to the car, when suddenly words began flowing through my mind. My notebook and pen were in the car, at least thirty minutes away, so I tried to memorize the lines as I hurried along. When I finally reached the car, I remembered most of the first three stanzas. Frustrated, I struggled to add the next two while I tried to recall the elusive lines. I cleared my mind and sat quietly for awhile. Then, just as suddenly, the Fae gifted me with the final stanza.

Journey Into Elfland

I am of Earth, I am of Sky

And so are you, come, by and by

When sunlight wanes with fair moonrise

See Faerie shining from our eyes

When velvet darkness dons her crown

of starlight shining to the ground

We stop and heed the eldritch call

and dance in circles, one and all

To flutes made from most fragile bone

of creatures fallen in the loam

Now from dried pods, a rattle comes

Long-hollowed logs make elven drums

In joyfully abandoned trance

Ecstatically we sing and dance

the transient moon across the sky

'Til morning's rosy light is nigh

Nocturnal glow transforms to dew

that settles on the golden hue

of leaves that glisten from the rays

As sun breaks through the woodland haze

Our magic lets us disappear

But you may find us if you dare

to dance at twilight's edge and sing

of Other times, remembering...

By Ailynari

Embracing Other Realms

Ailynari currently lives in a teensy river house in Indiana. She shares her home with numerous dried gourds, two dogs, a ghost kitty, and all manner of Fae folk. The gourds have their own room.

She sometimes feels she communicates better with animals and the Fae than humans, although she is working on this.

"For me, living in the magic is a spiritual endeavor. It's about doing my best to live in harmony with all of the spirits and beings of Nature, seen and unseen."

Ailynari has been a member of Enchanted Folk since November 2007

members.enchantedfolk.com/ailynari