Beannacht
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
John O'Donohue
Sometimes we just read what we need to hear, don't we?
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. I love all the images of light and water. It's Irish, but it's a bit Japanese, too! (What's a currach?)
ReplyDeleteoh, thank you for this. you see? you are SO much more than on the sidelines of my life. i come here, and i am blessed by this. it wraps itself around my half-irish heart and warms me...
ReplyDeleteWow. Thank you! Love this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gift, this poem is to me right now. A gift beyond words my friend.
ReplyDeleteThat was lovely...like a warm cloak fell on my shoulders.
ReplyDeleteWhat synchronicity! I have a draft of a post in waiting about this very poem and one I wrote in response to it earlier in January. Now I will have to get it finished, post, and link to your posting of O'Donohue's poem here instead of elsewhere. Love this connection. x0 N2
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteA currach is a small boat.
ReplyDeleteOh, my.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your gifts of poetry. I don't consider myself much of a poetry lover, until I read the ones you bring up on your blog. They never fail to inspire me and evoke raw emotion.
Thank you.
Thanks, K.E.!
ReplyDelete