St. Patrick's Day Poem: Bean Sídhe (part 2)

Part 2 of Bean Sídhe is below, a poem written by S P Clark to mark St. Patrick's Day. It is recommended that you read Part 1 before reading this. The first part of this poetic retelling can be read here. Part 3 will follow tomorrow!

Bean Sídhe (part 2)

S P Clark

He strode out to the cold night.

The air was still; there was no light.

His footsteps, the only sound;

pounding heart echoing around.

A fragile mist shielding views,

the grass he walked in midnight dew

splashed his feet and chilled his bones.

Homestead distant.  He hears low groans.

The moaning sounds made him pause

then lured him on to Aos Sí jaws.

The air changed, no longer cold,

a dampness was now taking hold.

He heard the stream wrapped in cloth;

dulled and dampened beneath its froth.

Then came the sound stronger now;

sweating with fright, he mopped his brow.

The keening call from all sides;

from the ground, the sky: it still hides

under every bush and leaf;

a haunting sound riddled with grief.

Oh, the sound he couldn’t see

Could only come from the Bean Sídhe.

Right there beneath the hawthorn

sat a woman; not dead nor born.

Dressed in white that had turned grey;

a living life filled with decay.

Her hair moved in time with fog.

Ciarán shuddered, his eyes agog.

Slumped, without sickness or health,  

this had to be Bean Sídhe herself.

Something sparkled in her hand,

a silver comb from distant lands.

She drew the comb through her hair.

The keening was heard everywhere;

it wasn’t shrill, wasn’t wild,

controlled enough to be reviled.

Strangled sounds with scent of death

that rose and fell with patient breath.

She combed as though time had ceased.

Bean Sídhe knew who would be deceased.

Trickles of grief ebb and bend;

this was a grief that knew no end.

Ciarán surely knew the rules

to linger is the work of fools,

do not let her see your fear,

do not speak words and don’t go near,

no matter how far you roam

you must never purloin her comb

TO BE CONTINUED...

© S P Clark