I’m about to step out into a gray New York evening with a very short Phantom of the Opera. We’ll go knock on doors and fill the streets of our tiny town on what is the most festive, community building night of the year.
And while I do, a bit of poetry by Nuala Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill will play in my head:
Tá tine Shamhna istigh im’ chroí
ag adhnadh ann go buan
is go Lá an Luain ni mhúchfar é
nó go ndéanfar diom smól dubh nó gual
go ndeintear diomsa gual.
An All-Hallows’ Furnace rages in me
which will stay alight forever
and will not be doused til time is severed or I smoulder into a charred ember,
become a sliver of coal
From “Focail do Théama Bhranwen/Words for the Branwen Theme” by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, translated by Medbh McGuckian, The Water Horse
Rage, grief, hope… they’re all entwined right now.
Wherever you are in the world this night, may you be held between the veils with tenderness and may insight find you on the the other side.
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Myth Is Medicine to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
