White Martyrdom

Tags

blackthorn, Bridei, coracle, Crimthan, High King Ireland, oratory, St Columba, St Patrick, white martyrdom

Not a St Patrick poem, but an Irish one, nevertheless.  A

re-blog:

(St Columba banging on the gate of Bridei 1906,

J R Skelton)

 

WHITE MARTYRDOM

From Crimthan, sly fox, to Columba,

dove of the church, was a coracle ride

and a conviction that the battle was His.

So the prince swapped his pillow for a stone,

his blackthorn cudgel for an olive branch,

dying daily till oratory steps

were illuminated with a white light.

And he who refused all wool and linen

was comforted by robes of righteousness

for his ultimate peregrination

in the hold of one who calmed the waters

and who was true High King of all Ireland.

 

* Celtic Christians called a spiritual journey which involved

self-sacrifice “white martyrdom”.

English: Stained glass window in Oban. This is the Christian saint Columba in stained glass form. He was born in Ireland and helped spread Christianity in Great Britain, especially in the Kingdom of the Picts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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