! The Pen Moved !

I wrote a poem today.

I was minding my business in my little yard, lifting my face to the sun on this gloriously cool and overcast day -- yes, to the sun. The clouds parted for an hour, and as I stood pondering this day and whether I could call it late summer or early fall I suddenly paid heed to her. She was looking in above the magnolia and between two maples. With her awful harshness eased, contrasted with the gentle grey, she suddenly seemed precious again, and I offered her the tilting back of my head, letting her rays touch my face and warm me. In that unguarded moment she penetrated all of my distraction, my excitement and my anxiety, my planning and my fatigue, burned all of that away and simply held me, like the two warm hands of my mother cradling my face.

And a poem began to lift in me. A sensation as I responded to her touch, a phrase, and then that once discarded eagerness, that determination to search out a notebook -- it couldn't be scrap paper, it had to be a notebook, as this prodigal moment had to be honoured as it deserved. The first poem I felt compelled like this to write since I forced myself to stop so I wouldn't drive my editor around the bend.

I wasn't going to type the poem into this post. It is a first draft, likely to change a lot over time, though maybe not. I like to let these things simmer, steep a long, long while, till we are done. Ready to emerge.

But I think I will share it, anyway. Some naked rawness for this splendid day. 

Blessings, friends.

August Sun

 

I can’t look at her face

it blinds

burns the core of eyes

reveals nothing

 

but her regard sets me ablaze

kindles   hope

action

stirs silted waters

churns up what has long settled

now seen once more

 

I worship her – I do

the sun among such distant stars

the one whose gaze

can kill or heal

feed or foster such drought

such fire as we have never seen

 

and then

come the clouds

and she is hidden once again

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash. I admit it isn't the dry late summer conditions of today in my town, but this girl is heedless of anything but the sun right now, as, for a moment, was I.

Brigit: Calming Troubled Waters

 

My second-ever guest blog! Thank you to

Rachel Patterson

, Kitchen Witch extraordinaire, for letting me take up a little space on her blog. The post is called Brigit: Calming Troubled Waters, and it looks at how working with Brigit and one of her poems helped me deal with work anxiety one day.

Image: "Wild cow" by Lightmatter.

Review – Poems for the season of Imbolc by Kris Hughes

Poems for the Season of Imbolc by Kris Hughes

US$8.00

I recently received a very short, self-published chapbook by an author whose writing I was not familiar with. I get nervous about reviewing people’s work—I don’t like to hurt feelings but I also don’t like to say I love something when I really don’t. Somehow the stakes seem even higher when it is self-published, I suppose because they don’t obviously have anyone else promoting the work for them, so more depends on one review, but equally they may well be depending entirely on their own eyeball when it comes to editing, layout, and so on, which as many writers have shown is not always a great idea. So it was with some trepidation that I awaited delivery of this booklet.

It arrived shortly before Imbolc. To my relief, it looked pretty darn good. The layout is done with an artist’s eye, though there is little decoration; it is printed on nice paper; there were no wild claims on the back cover: all promising signs.

Because of its subject matter, I wanted to review it right away so people could know about it before the feast day, but it is my busiest time of year and it just wasn’t possible. At last today I had a clear enough mental space to sit down and read the whole thing at once and pay it the attention it (and the author) deserved. I have to say—I love it.

Twenty pages all told, including front and back matter, Poems for the season of Imbolc focusses on the Scottish tales of Bride, Angus, and the Cailleach. There is a short and useful introduction and then four poems, “If Angus Would Come,” “The Cailleach Becomes Bride,” “Cailleach Rant,” and “Woman of the White Sky.”

Apart from “Cailleach Rant,” which is a prose poem of gathering power, the poems are free verse, telling their stories pithily and beautifully. Their tone ranges from lilting and passionate to wild and world-shaping, climaxing in a defiant call to giant selfhood.  I will give two small tastes, but far better that you read the book all at once. Often this is not the case with poetry. It’s best to take deep sips of one or two poems and then sit with them before going back. But Poems for the season of Imbolc is strongest when taken all together, from the longing of Bride for Angus to the transformation of Cailleach to Bride to the roar of the Cailleach to women everywhere, to the brief silence of the final poem of praise to her.

… If Angus would come

He would search for me

Guided by the light of a thousand candles

He would know my abode

By the sark I have hung on the window sill

It collects the snow, to be wrung as dew

To ease his wounds when he comes …

                        from “If Angus Would Come”

… I cackle again from the treetops

raising a storm that sends the cattle

lowing and bucking in indignation

from sleet like knives

for the shelter of the dyke

The ponies

lower their heads to the ground

tails plastered to their legs …

                        from “The Cailleach Becomes Bride”

What does it feel like when life turns out not to be a journey, after all, but an immense impermanence?

                                                from “Cailleach Rant”

Brigit Poems by Mael Brigde at The MotherHouse of the Goddess

I am happy to say that The MotherHouse of the Goddess, the school which hosts my Brigit courses, has published two of my poems on its blog. You can follow this link to read “Brigit – Keeper of Cattle”, and the following to see “At Your Healing Well”.

Thank you, Kim, for your appreciation and support of my work and devotion to Brigit.

(For those interested in the courses, the introductory course is called Discovering Brigit, and the month-long activation course is Stepping Into Brigit. If you enroll in the first (for $15 US), you will have an opportunity to continue to the second course at the end, and will be rebated most of that money in the enrollment process.)

____________________________

From their website:

About the MotherHouse of the Goddess

The MotherHouse of the Goddess is a Gathering Place for seekers of sacred living, particularly modern women. We share resources on Goddess and Women’s Spirituality and mindful living, provide online courses, and promote and organize events online and offline. The MotherHouse is the hub for blog posts and information for those who are seeking everyday sacred living, mindfulness, empowerment, and community for Goddess Spirituality and the Divine Feminine. Seasonal articles, living mythology, tools and practices, and transformational stories are all a part of our exchange.

Wise Women, Wild Women, Priestesses, Shamans, Teachers, and Guides are all involved and more joining as our offerings and content increases. Make sure you pop over and meet our contributors! We also welcome submissions – click here for more info on how to write for MotherHouse.

The Mission of the MotherHouse of the Goddess is:

• To provide a safe and nurturing space online for modern women to gather, share, study, and connect.
• To empower Women to seek and connect with the Goddess within and without and live authentic lives of power.
• To incorporate the practices and qualities of the EveryDay Sacred and Mindfulness into our daily lives.
• To make Goddess in all of Her forms accessible by providing well-researched information on Goddess Spirituality, Goddess Myths, correspondences and ritual practices, as well as ways to connect in modern day.
• To give opportunities for Women and those interested in Goddess Spirituality to connect with Teachers and explore the Divine Feminine in all aspects of their lives.
• To inspire Women to create their own rituals, prayers and poems for Goddess and their sacred experiences.
• To laugh, sing, dance, share stories, validate each other, blossom, and reach for the stars all in Her name.
• To plant the Seeds of Goddess throughout the world.

**While many of our offerings are directed to women, all are welcome.

Oh, Dear. Sacred Beer.

Everybody loves the prayer attributed to Saint Brigit about serving ale to Jesus and his crew. I love it. But maybe this new product is going a tad too far. (AND it is an odd "translation". Although, who knows, maybe they had a different original than the one I'm familiar with. To be fair.) But I bet I will be in the minority on this one. Even sober I can't help cracking a bit of a smile at it.

That is:

I’d like to give

A lake of beer to God.

I’d love the Heavenly

Host to be tippling there

For all eternity.

I’d sit with the men,

The women of God

There by the lake of beer.

We’d be drinking

Good health forever

And every drop

Would be a prayer.

And now the "real" translation. (Of course, I have not read the Old Irish, myself, so what do I know?)

Aengus Cèile Dè

“I should like a great lake of ale

For the king of kings;

I should like the family of heaven

To be drinking it through time eternal.”

                             (8^th century)

Translation found in Beith, M., (1995) Healing Threads: Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands. Thanks to Morgan Daimler, Pagan Portals: Brighid for this.

***

If you would like to purchase, or simply gawp at, this plaque, go to The Catholic Company site:

Saint Brigid "Lake of Beer" Tin Sign

Product Description

•     Creative tin sign themed for Ireland's faith and drink of choice 
•     Original gift idea
•     Easy to feature in a den or office 
•     Features poem by St. Brigid, Patroness of Ireland 
•     Exclusive to The Catholic Company

•    Item #: 9850126
•    Price: $16.95

Details

How about an aluminum sign that instantly enhances the character of a room? This one rouses authentic faith and good spirits.

Saint Brigid's timeless words are captured on a Guinness-inspired pint, and set against a map that traces the geography of Ireland's roving hills.

The size makes it easy to feature in home or office, and has layers of rich meaning and substance every bit as cool as St. Brigid herself.

Dimensions & Specifications

•     8" (W) x 12" (L)
•     2 side holes for easy hanging 
•     Material: Aluminum