Oran Mor, The Great Song of Creation, Part 2 by Iona Jenkins

Part 1 was posted yesterday. You can read it here.

After moving to Wales, I had more slow listening time, where I could even create personal rituals to tune into the Great Song. I became aware of the voices of birds, the rustling of daffodils, the washing of waves upon the shore below the cliff outside my window. Internally it is reflected as a beautiful chorale under a dreaming full moon, mystical merging with a starlit sky, or wakeful in the golden call of sunrise. The Universe puts on an inspiring sound and light show whether we listen or not. Sometimes when I write poetry it feels like Creation is singing through me.

For much of the last year I lost some of my connection, becoming discordant as one challenging circumstance after another knocked me off balance, forcing me to face an overflowing river of emotion, learn new skills, responsibilities, and deal with circumstances that cannot be reversed. I was forced to retreat and reassess, make drastic changes in the face of death and illness which are part of life whether we like it or not. Without my spiritual life with its internal sanctuaries for meditation and healing, without my professional therapeutic skills, I wonder whether I would have coped as well as I have, to find new strength in dark days of adversity. The notes of the Song now returning to consciousness have upheld me. In that internal chorale, I find solace, sinking into its melody, where I remember a Druid Blessing:

Blessings of Star and Stone,
Of the land within and without
Of all that is fair and free.

I take up the drum I bought in Glastonbury. According to Michael Drake in his book The Shamanic Drum – a Guide to Sacred Drumming, there is a place on the drumskin known as the Sweet Spot, which I was fortunate enough to discover, the first time I ever played this instrument. There is a sound behind the beat, a long continuous vibrating note, like my drum is singing in tune with the sea outside.

I am writing this because our world is discordant with the sound of bombs, destruction and human anguish, the sound of voices spreading propaganda, lies, gossip, hate, oppression and cruelty. If I never do anything else, I can work on my own harmony, because every authentic note helps. I can sing the Great Song as it expresses itself through the voice of my heart. We can blend our voices, cooperating to push that melodic choral, our vision of beauty and harmony out into the apparent world.

I leave you with three poems I would like to think came from the three strains of the Dagda’s Harp.

SONG OF LAMENTATION

WINTER LAMENT
On a grey rain-soaked day,
This damp seeping cloak
Of soft misted melancholy
Around my shoulders creeping,
Blue notes of loss and separation,
The Song of my Soul weeping
For all that’s lost or leaving
Through a door gently closing.
May all those good wise seeds
Sown in my fertile soil of sorrow
Root, thrive and grow tomorrow,
With the warmth of sun returning.
Iona Jenkins 2024

SONG OF JOY

THE VOICES OF BIRDS
The Maiden Goddess rises
White clothed in snowdrops
White clothed in snowdrops
And calm misty cloudscapes,
With the Earth’s first stirring
Of Spring beneath my feet.
Rippling on my heart strings,
The harmonic voices of birds
Fluttering in bare branches
Singing joy to the sunlight.
Iona Jenkins 2024

SONG OF SLEEP or MYSTICAL PEACE

SOUL BALM
Walking barefoot on the sand
Tight packed and tide sodden,
Where the sea and sky touch
On a wide spreading horizon
Of soft dove greys and white
Quiet spaces washed in light
And pewter silver shimmers,
Where the soul sighs expanding
In mild air streams salt scented,
And a seal’s beguiling song,
Echoing far away and beyond
These soothing flowing tides.
Iona Jenkins 2024

BIO: Iona Jenkins M.A. is the author of TO SING WITH BARDS AND ANGELS – A Journey into the Creative Heart, published by O Books,A former teacher, counsellor/psychotherapist/hypnotherapist turned writer, mystical poet and philosopher in retirement, Iona enjoys working with change and growth through creativity as well as exploring the Avalon Mysteries from her connection to the sacred sites of Glastonbury. Her path of Art and Soul draws inspiration and wisdom from nature, land, legend, the arts, and living by the sea on the south coast of magical Wales. You can find out more about her on http://www.ionajenkins.com