I am the Bard

As I am now at the end of my Druid Grade studies with OBOD I am beginning to write my review of it and as a part of that process I have been looking back over the other parts of the course too, and I came across this, which I wrote at the end of my Bardic studies. I always find it very interesting and helpful to look back on what you have done.

 

 

I am the Bard

by Diane Worthington

 

I am the Bard, come to discover

The deep connection to the land of the Druids

Walking in the heart of the forest, to the Sacred Grove

There to receive love’s gift from the Deer

 

Into the darkness I must go and sit

Then emerge reborn to life anew

To live the tale of Cerridwen and Gwion

Delving deep into the meaning of truth and myth

 

Bodies of light are we all

And to shine out this light for the world

The grove in the garden does beckon

And echoes to voice and to drum

 

The dream of a roundhouse in the forest

Mimicked by a greenhouse at home, connected to earth

The Bard’s journey is that of the seeker

To find a spark from the Divine to inspire

 

The circle is key to my practise

And at its centre, there stands the Bard

Time is allotted for reflection and prayer

The seasons are marked as the wheel gently turns

 

I am the Bard and Awen I seek

As I journey with Elen, Lady of the Woods

She shows me the way and answers the whys

And leads me on farther down the path

 

Wisdom can come from the old or the young

For nature holds all that we need

Family and friends help us out on the way

And my anam cara is always with me

 

The past and the present are not separate

They flow on the same stream of life

The Earth is the Mother who heals us

She holds us with love and her love we return

 

To work with the soil and the clay

She rewards us with food and with art

To fashion her likeness together

Now she stands on the altar and shines

 

The altar just acts as a focus

To stop the mind wandering alone

Stones. feathers and plants and the like

Reminding of her bounties she gives

 

The Bard sings the songs of the Earth

As the vibrations reach higher and higher

The flow of nwyfre starts a buzzing

As the energy builds to its peak

 

The Bard is transfixed and transformed

As she stands within this world and the other

Ahe is seen not only on forest paths

But also on the roads in the lands of the Fey

 

The life giving power of water

Gives life to our feelings as well

The waterfalls tumble and rivers flow on

Bringing life to the barren soils and souls

 

Life is a chase and all must decide

Are we hunter or hunted, predator or prey

But does it matter, as both they are needed

For the dance of life to go ever on

 

I am the Bard and the Hawk of the Air

I soar higher and higher to learn

The winds of change blow strong and fast

And their magic is powerful still

 

As I fly high in the clouds

The view from here is much clearer

The paths that lay both behind and in front

Stretch away but can clearly be seen

 

From the Sacred Summit our blessings are sent

To heal the Earth and all that’s upon her

The music is carried aling by the wind

On its way back to the place whence it came

 

And from the heights may the harvest be seen

To show what has gone bad and gone well

To gather the bountiful joys there created

And leave the rest as it helps us not

 

I am the Bard and I weild the fire

The Dragon is tamed at my hands

Though fire can destroy and discard

Great healing and joy can it bring

 

Fire is our life both above and below

And within us as food and as mead

Grown from the power of the fire in the sky

And giving is fire to build and to grow

 

I am the Bard and the holder of knowledge

I work with Earth and Water, Air and Fire

All these elements within and without me

Share the journey as I walk the wheel

 

All the strands now come together

Joined in my being are ritual and myth

Youth and age, innocence and wisdom

And the spirit soars in search of the Divine

 

In light we tread, but in darkness too

To nourish our souls we need both

To be alone in the dark and the quiet

May focus the mind to the Awen’s flow

 

The journey is over, and yet it is just begun

I emerge in the world, transformed

I have begun to know who I am

I am the Bard, ever on the road to becoming me

 

Diane Worthington

 

Well done if you got to the bottom!