{"id":233,"date":"2017-01-24T09:14:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T14:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/?p=233"},"modified":"2025-09-16T13:50:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T17:50:14","slug":"poem-6-instructions-by-neil-gaiman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/archives\/233","title":{"rendered":"Poem 6: Instructions by Neil Gaiman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Instructions by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Charles Vess\" width=\"665\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ra4pZ3OTUKA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never<br \/>\nsaw before.<br \/>\nSay &#8220;please&#8221; before you open the latch,<br \/>\ngo through,<br \/>\nwalk down the path.<br \/>\nA red metal imp hangs from the green-painted<br \/>\nfront door,<br \/>\nas a knocker,<br \/>\ndo not touch it; it will bite your fingers.<br \/>\nWalk through the house. Take nothing. Eat<br \/>\nnothing.<br \/>\nHowever, if any creature tells you that it hungers,<br \/>\nfeed it.<br \/>\nIf it tells you that it is dirty,<br \/>\nclean it.<br \/>\nIf it cries to you that it hurts,<br \/>\nif you can,<br \/>\nease its pain.<\/p>\n<p>From the back garden you will be able to see the wild wood.<br \/>\nThe deep well you walk past leads to Winter&#8217;s realm;<br \/>\nthere is another land at the bottom of it.<br \/>\nIf you turn around here,<br \/>\nyou can walk back, safely;<br \/>\nyou will lose no face. I will think no less of you.<\/p>\n<p>Once through the garden you will be in the wood.<br \/>\nThe trees are old. Eyes peer from the undergrowth.<br \/>\nBeneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She<br \/>\nmay ask for something;<br \/>\ngive it to her. She<br \/>\nwill point the way to the castle.<br \/>\nInside it are three princesses.<br \/>\nDo not trust the youngest. Walk on.<br \/>\nIn the clearing beyond the castle the twelve<br \/>\nmonths sit about a fire,<br \/>\nwarming their feet, exchanging tales.<br \/>\nThey may do favors for you, if you are polite.<br \/>\nYou may pick strawberries in December&#8217;s frost.<br \/>\nTrust the wolves, but do not tell them where<br \/>\nyou are going.<br \/>\nThe river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry-<br \/>\nman will take you.<br \/>\n(The answer to his question is this:<br \/>\nIf he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to<br \/>\nleave the boat.<br \/>\nOnly tell him this from a safe distance.)<\/p>\n<p>If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.<br \/>\nRemember: that giants sleep too soundly; that<br \/>\nwitches are often betrayed by their appetites;<br \/>\ndragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;<br \/>\nhearts can be well-hidden,<br \/>\nand you betray them with your tongue.<\/p>\n<p>Do not be jealous of your sister.<br \/>\nKnow that diamonds and roses<br \/>\nare as uncomfortable when they tumble from<br \/>\none&#8217;s lips as toads and frogs:<br \/>\ncolder, too, and sharper, and they cut.<\/p>\n<p>Remember your name.<br \/>\nDo not lose hope \u2014 what you seek will be found.<br \/>\nTrust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped<br \/>\nto help you in their turn.<br \/>\nTrust dreams.<br \/>\nTrust your heart, and trust your story.<br \/>\nWhen you come back, return the way you came.<br \/>\nFavors will be returned, debts will be repaid.<br \/>\nDo not forget your manners.<br \/>\nDo not look back.<br \/>\nRide the wise eagle (you shall not fall).<br \/>\nRide the silver fish (you will not drown).<br \/>\nRide the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).<\/p>\n<p>There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is<br \/>\nwhy it will not stand.<\/p>\n<p>When you reach the little house, the place your<br \/>\njourney started,<br \/>\nyou will recognize it, although it will seem<br \/>\nmuch smaller than you remember.<br \/>\nWalk up the path, and through the garden gate<br \/>\nyou never saw before but once.<br \/>\nAnd then go home. Or make a home.<br \/>\nAnd rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before. Say &#8220;please&#8221; before you open the latch, go through, walk down the path. A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted front door, as a knocker, do not touch it; it will bite your fingers. Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat nothing. However, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":490,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions\/490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/scottbevill.net\/HVA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}