Monday, March 16, 2009

Beannacht
("Blessing")

On the day when

the weight deadens

on your shoulders

and you stumble,

may the clay dance

to balance you.



And when your eyes

freeze behindthe 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.



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.



-John O'Donohue

2 comments:

8&20 said...

absolutely earth-shatteringly beautiful.

Amrithaa said...

I am glad you enjoyed the poem as much as I did N! :)

Linda, thanks so much for bringing it to my attention, I shall be more careful about checking copyright information before quoting in future. Thanks also for the links to his other works!
Blessings to you too! :)