Happy New Year’s Eve!!
Firstly, one of my favorite poems to start the New
Year:
Beannacht
(‘Blessing’
in Gaelic) By John O’Donohue
On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.
-------------------------
A few pictures from Cousins gatherings long ago:
The first two are from December 1957, so yours truly
is not even here yet:
Combining the two pictures from the bottom of the
stairway up, the cousins are:
Tim Kinsella with Nancy Taylor, David Lochner, Mary
Lou Taylor, Dan Maney, Bob Taylor with Ann Taylor, Chuck Lochner, Dan Kinsella,
Julie Lochner, Sue Kinsella, Cindy Hawkes, Kathy Taylor, George Taylor, Jack
Taylor and others (Mom could not see well—CAN YOU??) and Uncle Dick Lochner at
the top of the stairs holding down the fort!
Then, another picture from New Year’s Eve 1999: The millennium
was upon us, a new century, Y2K….
My family gathered to play instruments to welcome in
the New Year, and what a time these last twenty years have been!
I wish all of you the best of New Year's, the best of 2020, that we all have our share of laughter, good stories remembered, jokes told, as we also weave a cloak of love all around those we love.
3 comments:
Happy New Year my Cousin!
Pat,I appreciate your work on this page and how it helps keep the family connected.
Nice poem! Thanks for sharing it!
Love ya!
Lovely and comforting poem, Pat. I hadn't heard that before.
As to who else is in the cousins (plus one uncle) picture, going up the stairs: I think that's Rick Lochner to the right of Jack Taylor, then next row up going again from left to right - Michael or Steve Hawkes (I think Michael, but then where is Steve?), Richard Maney, and Top Row: Michael Maney, Uncle Dick, Jon Maney?, and I think Jim Taylor.
There's a little guy whose face we can't see to the right of Nancy Taylor at the bottom of the stairs, too. His hair curls like Jon Maney's hair used to, so maybe that's Jon there and Steve at the top? Or vice versa? Although that doesn't look like Steve to me at the stop.
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