Being Irish

What is it to be Irish?

To be born on a piece of earth to parents who were born on the same,

Nourished by its wind and rain?



To inherit the history

Of violence, pain and addiction?

To honor Irish ancestors,

Who created our land as it is today,

Who fought for our freedom,

Who sacrificed themselves,

For our well-being?



Is it to embrace a language

That was taken away,

That seems so difficult,

Yet resonates in our very core?

How it fills us with strength, pride and courage!

How it rolls off our tongues!



Is it to partake in a culture that was almost destroyed-

The songs of pain and glory

The songs of love and freedom

The poetry of the great ones of our land,

The art, the dance?

We were called savages,

But even the lowliest among us philosophizes,

even the poorest writes or paints

Or sings.



Is it to be Catholic, Protestant, pagan or druid?

The spiritual quest of the Irish has long been

Communion with nature, with each other,

With the Divine.



Is it to be funny? A drinker? A fighter?

Is it to laugh off the mockery?

Is it to not take ourselves too seriously?

Is it the adaptability we have learned,

Through famine, injustice, poverty, abuse and oppression?



Why is it important to dig into our roots?

Are we not citizens of the world?

Is it not a global economy?

Is this patriotism not outdated?



My roots are my ties to my family, my tribe

To whom I owe my life.

My roots make me who I am.

My roots sink me deep into the roots of all humanity.



For what is the deepest desire of the Irish soul?

Our history has taught us its value.

What is the deepest desire of any soul?

To be free, my friend, to be free!

A Question

If I reach out to you, would you take my hand?
Would you travel from where you are
to explore the landscape of my mind?

Would you love me
even when you don't understand?
Would you laugh with me everyday?
Would you listen to my hopes and dreams?
And absorb my enthusiasm?

Would you hold me no matter what I'm going through?
When I call you, when I need you,
When I yell at you,
Will you be there?

When it's boring, when it's hard
When I'm tired, when you're sick
Will you still look with eyes that are
as gentle and kind as they are now?

I will take you on
I will do what I can to bring you love
to bring you dept
to bring you art
to bring you my wealth.

I will welcome your body,
your life,
I will open up to your wisdom
your steadiness.

It's only a question of you and me
It's only a question of do we? or don't we?

First Spring

The sap is rising in the maple and the birch and the oak.

The wet ground is alive with sprouts, worms and insects.

The birds echo throughout the neighbourhood today.

I am the tree, energy is rising in me.

The buds of creation are growing in my mind.

Small purple, yellow and white flowers are showing their pretty faces

On the canvas of my life.

It’s my first spring

The first time I can feel nature’s awakening in my own being.

I raise my voice to the skies

In joy and thanksgiving,

In playfulness,

In the plenitude of oneness with my own creation.

Today, dreams are unfolding.

Who do I belong to?

Who do I belong to?

For centuries, I have belonged to man.

Without man, I suffered, was ostracised and died

I was expected to throw myself to my death on my husband’s funeral pyre.

My biology caused my slavery.

I had no access to food or security.

No right to be free.

Even God was denied me.

Who do I belong to?

My body has been used for pleasure that I have no part in.

It was bought and sold.

It was no longer living, breathing, sacred.

It was used, abused, dominated and throw away.

I say to you now,

That by the power of the universe,

I take my body back.

I reclaim my mind.

I am the embodiment of the energy of the cosmos.

I harness the beauty and vastness of the nebulae.

My being is sustained by the planets and the stars.

My birthright is divine.

I obey the laws of my own nature.

I commit to a loving relationship with myself and all life.

I honour my body, my mind, my life force, the movements of energy within me.

I belong to this moment.

I belong to all and nothing.

She

She walks through your life

Enjoying all it offers

Enjoying all you offer,

Even things you do not see.

She integrates and reshapes it

Into poetry, prose and Love.

She shows you tenderness

She shares her soul

She takes you into her heart

And blesses you there.

You are left changed

Even if you do not see.

She is raw

She is hungry

To experience more life

More love

To give more of herself

Because she is endless,

Boundless,

Awesome,

Free.

I Am

I am a portal to the pool of life

The infinite pool

Of possibility

I do not know what will come

I just know that I am source

I have been told what I want

I have been taught what I deserve

And I got it

Now I want to find me

To allow my life force to flow freely

To honour it

To rejoice in it

To swim and embrace the waters of my birth

I am life

I am the mountain peaks

The call of the lion

The cry of the baby

The whispering forest

I am power bursting through

Breaking the constructs of my mind

Now my need for you is gone

Now my need for you is gone

And my need to give is here

I will wait a little more

Before I reach out again

You were inside my flesh

Your touches were on my body

Whenever I was alone

You possessed my mind

And left me yearning once more.

Love was there

Whatever else

I’m not sure

Is it here again?

Can we stretch beyond

And find a deeper friendship

To enrich each other’s lives?

Now my need for you is gone

I wish to touch your heart once more.