Imbolc

tom.d.stiller · Post by **tom.d.stiller** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:14 am

Imbolc

this morning Brighid came to my bed
dressed by the rays of the rising sun
to wake me and make me kindle the fire.
the beauty and the crone she sang:

I am the traveller of the mountains
I'll lead you to the secret well
I'll teach you how to forge your life
and make your oran sound.

I am the keeper of the flame
the midwife and the bride
both the anvil and the hammer
in the smithy of your ear.

From the mine of your experience
I'll teach you to bring up the ore
that blow by blow the sledge refines
to words and lines and tunes.

I'll show you how to fold the rushes
for the cross, to weave the threads
of your spinning mind, to sew
the fabric of your love and pain.

with this the goddess disappeared.
the dream was over, i took the pen
and by the light of the candle crown
composed her beauty on a sheet.

-------------------------------------

Once again I take the chance to post the first draft of a poem.

Though this probably needs some reworking, it obviously had to be posted today.

tom

bee · Post by **bee** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:43 am

Tom, great poem, have to admit it took me 3 times to read,- with each time it got better and better, to the point to understand how beautiful it was, thank you so much.
Not sure though if i understand the meaning of the word- Imbolc?
please forgive my ignorance.
"the rays of the rising sun" - gives the feeling right there of what is about to happen- the Inspiration has come, the Muse.
how good is that!!!

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:11 am

bee- a quick response till Tom or someone more versed in this is that it is a pagan belief....what we here in the U.S. call Groundhog's Day. February 2nd. It signifies 6 weeks till Spring.

Laurie

bee · Post by **bee** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:25 am

Laurie- thank you very much!
I was much confused. Did you like the poem?
I found it delightful! Perhaps- the reason is - I am always waiting for the goddess, or inspiration to come. When it does- it is the best moment in life.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:38 am

hi Bee-

Yes. i like the poem. Very clever and well written.

It is probably even better when a fuller understanding of "imbolc' is present (which it is not in my case!)

L

bee · Post by **bee** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:51 am

laurie- same goes for me.

But I'm sure Tom will help us with that.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:55 am

Dear Tom-

Please tell us more!

(Bee-hopefully this will work

)

L

bee · Post by **bee** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:21 am

Laurie- I hope that Tom is busy writing a new poem, which he promised to do (telling you in secret)- my painting has inspired him

(if one is to believe in that) - however- I keep my hopes high!
( If this does not bring Tom out, than I don't know...)

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:31 am

Hi - I'm going to go waaay out on a limb here. See how close or far I can get.

Imbloc - I'm looking at the word and nothing is coming. Reading the poem again and again doesn't help. I'm looking at the famous 'white page'.

I'll say it's a place. In Ireland. Or a word that is symbolic - look at that. Look what I just typed. Take away the i and the s, change the order of the o the y is often said as i -there's my 2 minute explanation that explains nothing...symbolic of a place inside oneself.

Any Crits from C2 will be discarded. Unless they're nice ones.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:40 am

Bee- thanks for the inside scoop...Do you have a web page with your art?!? I'd love to see it.

L

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:47 am

Hi Laurie,

I was wondering the same thing. I remember her speaking of it when she came back from Australia. I'd like to see some myself. I guess no one's bowled over by my play on almost words.

LaurieAK · Post by **LaurieAK** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:54 am

Oh Linda- color me slow. I get it!! symbolic...haha
I've been wondering about the pronunciation. I wonder if it is simply as such.(?)

tom?!?!!

bee · Post by **bee** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:23 am

Linda- here you go again- no paintings fo' u- go back to the end of the line

laurie- let's see if i can recognize my painting in the poem, then I'll send it to you.
Linda- your help with the Imbolc is much appreciated, just that you've got me even more confused- inside oneself etc.- almost like needing some potion or something.

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:36 am

bee,

Oh, don't worry, I'm just as confused and am awaiting tom's arrival with anxious impatience. I just thought that in the meantime, I could play around with the words a bit.

Something tells me though, I'm no where near the mark. Passing time, passing time...

Now had I seen some of your paintings, perhaps my meanderings would be going in a different direction.

linda_lakeside · Post by **linda_lakeside** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:40 am

oran sound...Oran is a seaport in Northern Algiers. Did you paint a picture of a seaport? In N. Algiers?