Spencer Joyner, "Full Moon over Ocean"
Spiritual Sunday
Here’s an uplifting poem by the Irish poet John O’Donohue, who died three years ago. “Beannacht” is an Old Irish word meaning“May the blessing of God be upon you.”
Beannacht
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 colors,
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.
Spencer Joyner’s painting can be found at fineartamerica.com/featured/1-full-moon-over-ocean-spencer-joyner.html.
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5 Comments
Beautiful, Robin! Thank you.
“May the clay dance to balance you.” I think this is my favorite line, surprising as it is, that clay would come to my rescue, and do it gracefully. But the whole sense of the poem, that nature embodies love and yearns to wrap itself around you, to strengthen and encourage is lovely, and a blessing I am delighted to receive this Sunday.
Thank you for the post. I can feel the wind of the words: a gentle breeze
http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2010/inner-landscape/ss_beannacht/ss-beannacht.shtml
This blessing has been useful to read at death whenever I am given permission to share a meditation by surviving family and friends. I work as a spiritual care coordinator in a Canadian hospice.
How lovely, Nick. Thanks for telling me about this.