mirror

Since February 1st was St. Brigid's Day, and this week's Theme Thursday is "mirror" I'm taking the liberty to post this piece again. St. Brigid is, after all, the patron saint of poets, so she would be pleased, don't you think? Hmm, I don't know, is there a patron saint of mirrors? She must be the saint who protected Snow White!

Time Travel

Deep in the mirror,

her eyes meet mine

in the glow of her low

ceilinged room.

Ancient mother,

tends the hearth,

smoors the fire,

rakes my dreams

of earthy peat.

Her besom prayers

kindle bright,

while sacred three

light my night.

Then beckons me

with withy broom,

sweeps circled heaps

of embers,

St. Brigid offers solace

in her cinders.

willow, 2009

to my ancient grandmother, Anne Mackie, 1580, Galloway

"Smooring the fire" is an artistic and symbolic ceremony performed by the woman of the house before retiring for the night. A ritual blessing, recited over the fire in Gaelic is called "smaladh"; in Scottish, "smooring". The embers are evenly spread on the hearth and formed into a circle, which is then divided into three sections, with peat laid between each.

As a prayer to St. Brigid, the first peat is laid down in name God of Life, the second in name God of Peace, the third in name God of Grace. The circle is then covered over with ashes sufficient to subdue, but not to extinguish, the fire in name of the Three of Light. You might remember seeing this lovely tradition performed in the movie The Secret of Roan Inish.

This also makes me think "smores", the traditional campfire treat, consisting of a layer of roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker, doesn't come from "s'more" or "give me some more", but rather from the tradition of smooring the fire. Maybe the correct spelling should actually be "smoors"? This is making me drool. Where'd I hide that last Ghirardelli square?

Just so you know, a "besom" is a broom made of a bundle of strong flexible "withy" or willow stems. How appropriate.

For more Theme Thursday participants click [HERE].