Beannacht ("Blessing") by John O'Donohue

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 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.

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

(Photo by amma_maw.)

Comments

[Angela]

"And so may a slow wind work these words of love around you" Wow. Absolutely beautiful. The photo, too.

[Lunarmusings]

I love this man. I just listened to one of his last interviews on one of the podcasts I listen to : Speaking of Faith. His ability to See life through the veil of beauty is so profound to me. When I listen to his interview on this podcast, it felt as if I was attending the kind of church I would love to belong to. One of passion, and one that promoting fully embracing life with one long rapturous Yes. Thank you for sharing his poem!

[Jennifer Boire]

dear Carla,
I was at Kripalu last week but missed John Donoghue, there for another workshop. I have two of his books, just love the poetry of this thought, his book on Beauty especially.
thanks for this lovely poem,
how is your book coming along?
best
jenn
ps am still dreaming of returning to Taos one day, posted a poem on www.wisdomforwomen.blogspot.com that I wrote there

[Angela]

I love this poem.

[Ann]

And God rest his soul. What a wonderful prophet and poet and he left us far too soon.

[Kate O'Shea]

I, too, am touched deeply by his depth of thought on the many aspect of life on which he wrote. He truly was the Kahlil Gibran of our day, and he is sorely missed. He did, however, leave a great deal of words for us to "mine," and write on our own souls. My heart goes out to his family and life partner who miss him in the dailiness of their lives. (If you have not seen his Celtic Pilgrimage DVD, it is highly recommended. It is as close to you can get to walking with him on the landscapes that he loved so deeply.)