“It
was in 563 that St. Columba left the
Ireland
of his birth to journey northwards
in
his boat and to land on that Scottish isle
of
Iona to which one sails from Argyll.
Like
his fellow Irish peregrini, he
was seeking
an
island because he wanted solitude.” (80)
-
Eleanor Duckett
The Wandering
Saints (1959)
It is Saint Nicholas Eve
and
I am about to leave
for
destinations unsung;
the
journey begins. 1
The
path I am about to weave
has
not yet been ‘approved’—
but
Wisdom’s Stag is calling
and
my mind is for following—
so
I will go. 2
Reversing
Homecoming
I
venture out without a sleigh
to
travel the untrodden hills
and
never look back.
It
is a way-less way I tread—
but
gladly I will go. 3
There
is no turning back now,
the
bridges are all gone;
I
have burned them all behind_
and
all my pasts have fled.
So
now I take the sainted trip
with
Columba as my guide—
across
the existential sídhe! 4
Whether
or not I will ever
return
to a place of my own_
I
shall not try to fathom;
that
way lies regret.
But
I shall take a feather
and
write what I am shown
along
these earthen trails
that
reveal what I neglect. 5
For
I have found myself
an
outcast from the worlds
that
I long ago created.
And
so, I’ve pathed to where
Truth
has led me—with care;
forsaking
all for Wisdom’s sake.
Friendship
ever succors me
and
devout study sets me free—
as
on and on I go. 6
It
is a strange land I’ve found
of
Thoughtful Wonder—
And
I shall revel in it;
a
Homeless bounder_
until
my ship goes under! 7
Amen.
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