Ancestor - framed poem, signed , A4 size

This Print is signed by the author

About the author:

Geraldine Moorkens Byrne is a poet and writer from Dublin Ireland. Her poetry has been extensively published in magazines, print anthologies,  e-zines and performed as theatre. Her work is recognized for its deep roots in Irish mythology and heritage. She is also a teacher of mythology, folk traditions and Irish spirituality including classes on Old Irish funerary rites and Keening. She has composed ceremonies for life rites, including funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies and other transitional events.

Ancestor

This is a poem that celebrates life, even in death. We live on, in both nature and  our loved ones memories. We part of the cycle of life and love transcends all loss. Uplifting, deeply rooted in the old Irish beliefs and spirituality, and ideal as an expression of comfort to the bereaved, or of faith that we will still be present in the lives of those we leave behind.

Ancestor

If I should die tonight

and my bones laid in the earth

would my voice not be the wind

and the sun my smile?

I am the blood in your veins;

all the lives I have lived

have been, in this way,

transmuted to new life

flowing from your heart to mine.

I am the beat of the Bodhrán

and the touch of the line on water

I am the thought unbidden

the instinct that springs -

If you listen not to me,

then you ignore yourself,

and silence your own voice.

I am the string plucked,

the note quivering

the dream sung by voices

you remember from your cradle.

I am the silent watch of the nights

and the first breath of morning

because you carry me always in your heart