Quiet Echoes – John O’Donohue

She was fascinated with words. To her, words were things of beauty, each like a magical powder or potion that could be combined with other words to create powerful spells. ~ Dean Koontz

               I have been a lover of words ever since I can remember. In truth, I cannot recall a time when words have not been one of my best friends. All in the manner in which they are put together, they have so much power.

               Words can heal or they can hurt. Words can elicit feelings of sorrow or of joy, they can speak with beauty whether they speak of hate or of love.

               One cannot be a lover of words and creating without first loving the words and crafts of others.

               My love of writing was born of my love of reading others’ words.

               They have consoled me and excited me.

               The words of others are just as much a part of the woven tapestry of my heart that I can’t help but return to them. Many times over the years I find more and more meaning from them.

               Each week, to stir and to open the heart, I will share echoes of these voices and how they deeply touch me.

               To begin, a very special poem, a wish for others, a message of warmth and comfort …

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 into 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.