Merry Meet, my friends!
I prepared my message for this marvelous holiday before my husband and I went out of town to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. Unfortunately, the Mercury retrograde shadow hit hard, and my lovely post is lost forever.
So instead of trying to rewrite it from vacation-land (these posts take me many hours, believe it or not), I am going to share my favorite Lughnasadh-themed poem. If you want more about the magic and lore of this important cross-quarter sabbat, you might re-read here.
Or visit my friend, Cate Kerr, who always shares incredible wisdom and beauty on her art-filled site. This was especially inspiring.
Thanks for your patience.
I am still having lots of intermittent glitches with my site, so I hope you’ll actually see this.
Blessings to all.
Little Summer Poem
Touching the Subject of Faith
Mary Oliver
Every summer
I listen and look
under the sun’s brass and even
into the moonlight, but I can’t hear
anything, I can’t see anything —
not the pale roots digging down, nor the green stalks muscling up,
nor the leaves
deepening their damp pleats,
nor the tassels making,
nor the shucks, nor the cobs.
And still,
every day,
the leafy fields
grow taller and thicker —
green gowns lofting up in the night,
showered with silk.
And so, every summer,
I fail as a witness, seeing nothing —
I am deaf too
to the tick of the leaves,
the tapping of downwardness from the banyan feet —
all of it
happening
beyond any seeable proof, or hearable hum.
And, therefore, let the immeasurable come.
Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine.
Let the wind turn in the trees,
and the mystery hidden in the dirt
swing through the air.
How could I look at anything in this world
and tremble, and grip my hands over my heart?
What should I fear?
One morning
in the leafy green ocean
the honeycomb of the corn’s beautiful body
is sure to be there.
Comments on this entry are closed.
thank you
Thank you, dear one. I am glad to know this went out and/or is being seen. It was a ridiculous technology snafu, and I haven’t been sure it got resolved.
Blessed Harvests! 🌾🍞🥖💚
Such a beautiful lovely poem for such a special blessed day! Happy Anniversary and have a wonderful time away. Oh, and of course blessings of the new/dark moon 💕🦋
Thanks so much, dearest Marguerite. Blessings to you as well. 🌾🍞🌘
Blessings to you dear Beth for posting this lovely poem from Mary Oliver. I am baking Sage infused cornbread for Lughnasadh. Blessed Be.
That sounds absolutely delicious! May your rites be abundantly blessed! 💚
Thank you! Perfect timing for a perfect reminder of the B.essings Mother Goddess brings.
Aloha always,
Maria
Aloha and massive blessings to you, Maria! May your harvests be rich and delicious! 💚🌺💚
Thank you for sharing this. Makes me realize how far removed from the earth I am becoming over the years. Grandparents were farmers; dad was a grocer; and I’ve just lately been enjoying local farmers markets. A child there yesterday did not know what green beans were, and we shook our heads and laughed. But when is the last time I actually cooked green beans, or any other fresh food from scratch? A fading memory–and that scares me! Today is a perfect day to really reconnect with our mother earth and everything we hold sacred. How stealthily our minds/lives/values are being eroded and what matters being ridiculed, forgotten, or forced out of the picture. Thank you+
Oh, Roseanne! So much insight and wisdom in this realization. And to recognize the folly of our children not knowing where their food comes from, or even what it looks like “in the wild.”
Here’s to both of us, cooking straight from the Earth, with tremendous gratitude for those hard-working heroes who raise their bounty for our tables.
Beth, I’m so sorry your initial post is lost forever – I certainly do believe that it takes many hours to write your posts! Writing can be hard work. Nevertheless, thank you for the beautiful Mary Oliver poem, and I hope you are having a wonderful vacation!
Thank you, Aimee. It was a pretty hard comedown after such a relaxing, beautiful trip.
But I love sharing Mary Oliver’s poetry and this one really does speak to the utter essence of Lughnasadh for me.
Blessings on all our celebrations of gathering and togetherness. Your posts are such a shower of Light in the dark and fertile chaos of now. Enjoy every moment in vacation-land.
I am back in Atlanta for a good long stay. The crickets are out-singing the cicadas and I feel Late Summer all around me, even here in the city.
What a year for peaches here in the southeast!
Peace and love, Linda
Linda! Welcome back to the sweltering South! Yes! The peaches are incredible this year. And I, too, love this time of gentle transition, as we feel the light and the glory of Summer begin to soften and then fade. Blessed Lughnasadh dear one. 💚
Oh Beth! Thank you for sharing this gorgeous poem by Mary Oliver — I’m bowled over by the brilliance of Lugh and the genius of this poet in capturing that! Bright blessings and so much gratitude for this harvest.
Bountiful blessings right back to you, dearest Margaret! May your harvests be delicious in every way! 💚🌞💚
so beautiful! happy lammas to you, and i hope you are having a lovely vacation.
Thank you dearest one. Sending ongoing good vibes to you!
Happy Anniversary !!!
Thank you for the beautiful image, poem and links 🔗
You are most welcome, Ryan. Hope you are savoring this magical time of the year.
Mary Oliver’s sharing of her verse is phenomenal. It pulls you into the world she loved and wanted to be part of.