Donations are essential to keep Write Out Loud going    

Hiraeth

Hiraeth is a Welsh word with no precise English synonym or  equivalent. I take it to mean a form of spiritual desolation formed by a nostalgia for a home we never had. How life was before the fall from grace and into the realm of mortality. A pre-lapsarian sense of the beauty of the garden of Eden: a time out of time, and a place out of place. I think it describes a widespread sense of spiritual homelessness and desolation common in the 21st century. 

entry picture

the sky is a swirling grey blue in patches
cumulus clouds ferret away the sun
and the landscape bleeds into my eyes;
all is as it should not be
fire framed with ice
entombs my heart

everyday is a departure,
a goodbye prayer
that I cannot drag back into my mouth
I know this, yet I choose to forget
all the self-indulgences of time
all in me that does not rhyme.

I am glad that I do not know
what I do not know
it is a release and a blessing
like the wise fool and the simple mind
we must gather to a greatness
like the ooze of oil*
then throw it all away,
in spite of ourselves.

* 'The Grandeur of God', Gerard Manley-Hopkins SJ

 

◄ Holy Brokenness

An essential melancholy ►

Comments

Profile image

John Marks

Fri 19th Aug 2022 23:11

Thank you Stephen A. Your support means more than I can say.

Your friend

John

Profile image

Stephen Atkinson

Fri 19th Aug 2022 17:35

Wonderful words, as always, John. And great music to boot!

Profile image

John Marks

Fri 19th Aug 2022 10:45

Thank you Frederick, Holden, KL, Stephen and Hugh.

Yn union felly Hugh. Mae eich cwpled yn dweud y cyfan. Roedd fy ffrind yn ieithydd a ddysgodd Gymraeg ac a aeth i fyw i Ynys Môn lle cyflawnodd hunanladdiad.

Profile image

Hugh

Fri 19th Aug 2022 08:39

Hiraeth mawr a hiraeth creulon,
Sydd bob dydd yn torri'n nghalon.

If you wish to post a comment you must login.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message