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Radiant Poem

    On Hyndford Street

Van Morrison

Take me back, take me way, way, way back
On Hyndford Street

Where you could feel the silence at half past eleven
On long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg

And the voices whispered across Beechie River
In the quietness as we sank into restful slumber in the silence

And carried on dreaming, in God
And walks up Cherry Valley from North Road Bridge, railway line

On sunny summer afternoons
Picking apples from the side of the tracks
That spilled over from the gardens of the houses on Cyprus Avenue

Watching the moth catcher working the floodlights in the evenings
And meeting down by the pylons
Playing round Mrs. Kelly's lamp

Going out to Holywood on the bus
And walking from the end of the lines to the seaside

Stopping at Fusco's for ice cream
In the days before rock 'n' roll
Hyndford Street, Abetta Parade
Orangefield, St. Donard's Church

Sunday six-bells, and in between the silence there was conversation
And laughter, and music and singing, and shivers up the back of the neck

And tuning in to Luxembourg late at night
And jazz and blues records during the day
Also Debussy on the third programme
Early mornings when contemplation was best

Going up the Castlereagh hills
And the cregagh glens in summer and coming back
To Hyndford Street, feeling wondrous and lit up inside
With a sense of everlasting life

And reading Mr. Jelly Roll and Big Bill Broonzy
And "Really The Blues" by "Mezz" Mezzrow
And "Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac
Over and over again

And voices echoing late at night over Beechie River
And it's always being now, and it's always being now
It's always now

Can you feel the silence?
On Hyndford Street where you could feel the silence
At half past eleven on long summer nights
As the wireless played Radio Luxembourg

And the voices whispered across Beechie River
And in the quietness we sank into restful slumber in silence

Although this is on a album of songs it is the most beautiful rendition of poetry.

For this Irish storyteller it takes him way back to when the gas lamps on the street in his home town of Armagh City Northern Ireland were put out by the moth catcher.

If you are a workshop leader and you want people to relax into their imagination take them on a trip down Hyndford Street.

Love it.

Hymns to the Silence

RADIANT SONG

     One Irish Rover 

by Van Morrison

Tell me the story now
Now that it’s over
Wrap it in glory
For one Irish rover

Tell me you wiser now
Tell me you older
Wrap it in glory
For one Irish rover

Bridge:
I can tell by the light in your eye
That you’re so far away
Like a ship out on the sea
Without a sail, you’ve gone astray

Tell me the facts real straight
Don’t make me over
Make it come out alright
And wrap it in glory
For one Irish rover
For one Irish rover
One Irish rover
One Irish rover

Van Morrison has been one of the great invitations of this Irish storytellers life.  There isn't an album of Van the Man's I have not at one time owned.

Due to generosity and the love of puppy dogs his renditions have been given some puppy love.  With all good intentions from the puppies they never play the same again.

This is one song One Irish Rover I love because it is about an Irish rover like myself who is requested to tell a story.

This album also has some of the most beautiful of Van Morrison songs on it. In particular the two I absolutely adore are A town called Paradise and In the Garden.

Newly remastered sound and expanded packaging including lyrics of No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1986. 

The song "In the Garden" was a favorite fan concert performance and per Morrison, "I take you through a definite meditation process which is a form of transcendental meditation." 

This album was hailed by most critics as a return to form. John Wilde in Sounds remarks, "the crescendos here are never dampened by their subtle nature and never fall short of blinding. The whole album aches with a steady stream of sorrow."

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

I can't remember who introduced me to the music of Loreena McKennitt.  I think it was a wonderful woman who is an Arabian dancer.

Loreena and I have crossed threshold places together.  She has been with me when I walked out of places I should not have survived.  

Maybe it was her beautiful voice that protected me in that dark time when this Irish rover had almost lived his last story. 

If you like stories of history, tragic love affairs, and poetry...listen to Loreena McKennitt's AN ANCIENT MUSE.

An Ancient Muse

Soul of the Sunflower - Vedder

"Shadow Flower and the Gardener of Time"

"Part III of III"

And so it was that in the Garden of Time a flower died.

Shadowflower remembered. All the flowers who had been chanting “Shrink her, shrink her” stopped. There was silence in the Garden of Time. Even the shadows that had hung around the edges of the flowerbed hid in the undergrowth. Something had happened that had never happened before. The light of a bright spirit had been put out.

The Gardener beyond time looked at Shadowflower who was now weeping again.

“I didn’t mean to chase away the dancer. I was only one of seven others and I didn’t even do the loudest chanting. I wasn’t the only one to blame. Was I?” she pleaded.

“No,” replied the Gardener beyond Time. “It is true that you were not the only one. It is true that you were not the one who chanted the most or even the loudest. Only it was you who most wanted it to stop and didn’t say anything. You were the one who, more than the others, wanted to say no to the shrinking and said nothing.”

Shadowflower hung her head. She knew that what the Gardener beyond Time was saying was right. She remembered that she had wanted to invite the flower called Bright Spirit to dance with her group of flowers. Only she had felt the shadow of fear that had come into the Garden of Time. She feared not belonging. She feared she might be made to grow up alone.

The Gardener beyond Time continued, “You were the one in the group who was the most sensitive to the light of Love. You are the one who loved this invitation to love more than any other. You were the one with the opportunity for courage and the one with the biggest heart. I know this because I gave you this gift of a big heart. I am the gardener of all the hearts in this garden.”

Shadowflower said, “But it wasn’t that terrible. It was only a chant. It didn’t last that long,” she said wanting to explain all the reasons that might make sense of what had happened.

The Gardener beyond Time went silent. After what seemed too long a time for Shadowflower he spoke quietly but firmly. “Oh No. You think it didn’t last that long. You think it simply went away and had no more effect?” The Gardener beyond Time did not scold. He simply stated this as if it where a question. Then he issued Shadowflower an invitation.

“Come, Beloved of my heart. Come and see where the chant is now. Come and see the effect that you and your friends have created in the Garden of Time. Come and see how what you create sometimes goes on and on. Come and see the real Shadowland`s.

Shadowflower was sure she had already seen quite enough. Yet she felt protected by the gentle sound of the Gardener beyond Time’s voice. She felt a protection from this Gardener that she could not explain. She felt safe in a way that she had not known for too long a time.

And so it was that the Gardener beyond Time took Shadowflower into the future in the Garden of Time. There, in that future time Shadowflower looks upon the Garden of Time. Only it does not look anything like a garden at all. It is a place ruled by Shadows. There are no flowers there. There is only the quiet of rocks and more rocks. There are no birds because all the trees have been destroyed by the sound of chanting.

This is the sound of chanting from dark shapes that weave in and out of a dark sky. These are the dark shapes that hover above a land that is bare of sentient life because now in the Garden of Time there is no light. And the dark shapes are chanting. Shadowflower does not have to listen hard to hear the chant, “Shrink them, Shrink them.”

Shadowflower cannot believe what she is seeing or hearing. She hears the chanting of familiar voices. Amidst these she hears her own voice. She cries out, “But I didn’t do this. I’m only one flower. I don’t have the power to do this. I would never do this. I’m not a bad flower. I never really meant to harm anyone. I wouldn’t let this happen.”

And the Gardner beyond time said, “No, you alone did not do this. You alone did not bring this into being. This is only how it might be. This is only how it might be if you do not speak the truth that is in your heart – the heart that I have given to you. This is how it will be when you forget the law of Love. This remember, is your Law.

Shadowflower did not argue this time. Her heart told her that this indeed was the Law and that she had broken it. “So Beloved Gardener beyond Time," asked Shadowflower, “Is it too late for me to do anything to change this darkness that I constantly feel in my heart?"

The Gardener beyond Time smiled and said, ”Beloved of my Heart, when you live in the shadows for a long time you begin to think that the light will never come again. Of course, all you flowers in the Garden of Time think that you only ever have one season. But I have created you forever. You may live in the Garden of Time but you are always living in my Garden beyond Time. This is the Garden you call Love.

“So what do I do? “asked Shadowflower.

The Gardener beyond Time smiled again. “You have already begun to do what is needed. You have already started the change. You have shed tears of a heart that was once hardened by shadow. You have seen light reflected in the tears you have shed. This is the light called Compassion. It is what I call Love with Wisdom. This is the power you need to change shadow into light.”

The Gardener beyond Time went silent. Then he spoke again. “The first real step on the road to the return of light and delight is to forgive the one who caused the shadow in the first place. Under the law of Love you can change what you have created if you allow your heart to open. 

Love begins with loving you for all that you have judged yourself “good” or “bad.” I, who am the Gardener beyond Time, will never judge you. All I ever do is love you as you are shadows and all. This I do forever. This is my promise to all my creations in the Garden of Time.

Shadowflower suddenly woke up as if from a deep sleep. She glimpsed for a moment a new possibility. She suddenly remembered what it felt like to live without the burden of a shadow life. She glimpsed the possibility that the darkness and shrunkenness of her heart might be over. She felt again the beauty that she longed for. The beauty of a heart at peace with itself in the delight of Love.

The Gardener beyond Time spoke for the last time. “Shadowflower, you are Beloved of me. You are my creation. Whatever you do or do not do in this Garden of Time you are made in my image. I am a Gardener in the Garden of Forever. I am always with you except when you choose to close your heart. With this said the Gardener beyond Time left the Garden of Time

Now in the Garden of Time there lives a flower called Shadowflower. No one knows quite how she got her name. All the bees are drawn to this flower who grows alone. This is the flower they say who knows the secret of the heart. They whisper that she knows the secret of being all one.

Birds sing more sweetly and ecstatically when in the presence of this dark flower. All the little flowers in the Garden of Time especially love to hear her tell about when she lived in Shadow. One little flower especially loves this story more than any other. They say she takes her name from her mother who loved the dance. Her name is Bright Spirit.

So when all the little flowers in the Garden of Time are silent and attentive, Shadowflower begins, “Once upon a time in the Garden of Time there lived a very unhappy flower named Shadow-flower. This is the story of how she got her name.”

THE END

Go back to Part Two

Go back to Part One

© Tony Cuckson 2009

Another Soul Friend - Kahil Gibran

"click on graphic."

At the beginning of this book the Irish mystic George Russell (AE) wrote:

"I do not think the East has spoken with so beautiful a voice since the Gitanjali of Rabindranath Tagore as in The Prophet of Kahlil Gibran, who is artist as well as poet.  I have not seen for years a book more beautiful in its thought, and when reading it I understand better than ever before what Socrates meant in the Banquet when he spoke of the beauty of thought which exercises  a deeper enchantment than the beauty of form..... I could quote from every page, and from every page I could find some beautiful and liberating thought."