I don't usually repeat a blog but for once I will make an exception. As I have already mentioned here John Moriarty died last Friday and as a remembrance I am repeating a poem I wrote for him last year...
For John Moriarty
And the furze blooms dip their yellow heads,
And the driving rain thunders on the roof
And every ditch and stone is dripping wet,
Then there is need for the seer
To look beyond the world that dreary hangs,
And touch the hidden sun,beyond the cloud
And kiss the smiling lips beneath the shroud,
And share the beauty-truths that still abound
Even in a world more lost than found.
For this time John, you were born
A benediction on all forlorn
To share the Eucharist of your wound
And bending down to hug the holy ground
Strong dweller of the solitary place,
Hermit who loves the swirling crowd,
Abstainer from every man cut creed,
Friend to the broken heart and face cast down,
Dreamer of substance more real than earth,
You have gone out and left the fetid camp
Like One who hung beyond a city wall.
You have climbed the ascending path
Beside the torrenting waterfall
And all the days of your life you have gazed upon it
And learned the lesson to be still
And found the essence of all our days
Hidden in the deep deep heart of God.
2006
2 comments:
Fitting tribute to a great man.Even though I am still struggling through large chunks of Nostos,every word invigorates,every thought challenges. John Moriarty is Irelands national monument.
It is a mark of the greatness of this man that his death was not greeted by the fawning tributes of the "usual suspects". His lasting worth is enshrined in the hearts of thosewho knew him and shared his vision.
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