Brighid
Weaving Her Mantle
I
think of Your famous mantle,
draped
around Your shoulders,
a
legend of Your kindness and cleverness.
Was
it given to You?
Perhaps,
but Your blessed mantle
feels
crafted by Your deft hands.
Even
with Your ability,
did
Your fingers fumble
while
arranging the warp?
Did
inexperience pass into expertise
as
You worked the yarn
over
and under, under and over?
Emerald,
sage, and grass green,
hues
of the land coming together, one day
spanning
the distance of the Curragh.
Once
removed from the loom,
did
You hang it on a sunbeam
to
admire Your handiwork?
Your
fair fingers idling
over
the delicate fringe
as
You prayed or sang.
I
ponder these images,
sacred
scenes resonating
as
I weave.
Image: "Irish Colleen with Green Plaid Shawl." (1890s) This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division. Public domain, accessed via Wikimedia. Photo is retouched and colourised. She wears a flowered headscarf and a long white apron over a black dress. She is looking off to the side, hands on hips, her dark red bangs visible.
Note: First published in Oaken Roots Hermitage, 14 December 2021.
