Finding Ériu

Ériu is derived from the old Irish meaning goddess of an abundant land.  As the concept evolved, Ireland become associated with the body of the maternal deity. That idea fascinated me; and I thought of the landscape divided into  regions that were attributed to various aspects of her form. The woods  became her waist, the core,  the latitude where physical and spiritual energy connect; as well as the inspiration for this poem.

 
Beyond her geographic roots, Ériu’s  influence extends to any terrain that evokes a divine presence. Often, technical noise and outside traffic disrupt the pure silence and solitude needed to write and create. The light of imagination cannot enter without some kind of pollution hindering the process. In that way, we are driven to seek the primal path,  ancient openings in the forest  that seclude our spirit and hone the senses. And despite clock or calendar,  she is always there -- waiting for us to return, to rediscover her magic and make her being part of our own.

These narrow woods
form the waist of the goddess
cinched on either side
by limestone walls.

 She breathes in  wet loam
and blossoms, loosens
the wind's drawstrings

dispelling ancient secrets and signs.

Some are green. Some belong
to wise women who walked
in her body before me.  Yet now

I become this part
of her person untwisting
that cool silence  lost

days  ago  when  light

could no longer reach
unfiltered -- or  spark words
from syllables rubbed
together like stones.