Saint Brendan of Clonfert Lifts my Spirits as I Read Today’s News

The world is ending,
moments between tragedies few.

I sit in stillness, wrapped
in the arms of a night in midsummer,

the impossibility of the day’s headlines
speaking like a story that isn’t true.

Casting my gaze from what emerges, endless,
that which is holy catches my eye:

the bronze currach sailing the waters
of my bookshelf, the gift of tradition

straight from the west coast of the
Land of Saints and Scholars,

sculpting connection through an elegance
in design between me and all who came before.

What I remember makes me sigh.
Wistful. A wonder-tale fit for any age,

Brendan navigating through tribulation,
voyaging boldly in search of promise, fulfilled.

A faith sweeping, all-consuming.
The way the sea always rises to meet the shore.

I pray you’ll catch me, eyes toward Eden,
tending persistently the garden at my feet.

Because it’s in the attempt, isn’t it?
And won’t we, too, return, rejoicing?

Kara Dunford (she/her) is a writer living in Washington, D.C. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Brave Voices Magazine, Fahmidan Journal, and Boats Against the Current, among others. She serves as Poetry Editor for Overtly Lit. Find her on Twitter @kara_dunford.