Waiting for Brigid
New year at Hogmanay? Too early.
Bury yourself in darkness, till
the days stretch a little. Let newness
grow inside you. There will be light. You’ll see
snowdrop candles gentling
winter dusk. There’ll be that moment
when everything seems possible.
There’ll be a nipple for the growing year
to suck, an areola
to latch onto, a breast to grab
with tiny hands. There’ll be milk
and crying; charted growth, and growth
that nobody can see, no scale
can measure. There’ll be walking up and down –
a baby sling – some sleepless nights
in June. Your year
will sit up, stretch
toward the sun – sink its teeth in –
play with speech – delight
in dandelion clocks –
crawl towards winter hide.
St Brigid’s Day (1st February) was celebrated in Ireland
as the first day of spring. The following day is Candlemas.
from the ‘Light Reborn’ section of A Place to Keep My Shadow