There is something enchanting in Celtic music

Each new song speaks to the listener

evoking in us a memory, a dream,

visions of places we have never been

The melody bestirs our senses--opening them anew

to the life in the earth, the sky, the oldest trees

and the youngest flowers. We feel their pulse and

their spirits talk to us

The air is thick with mysteries of days long past,

of the fae, of clans, and feuding lords,

of women staring into the flame of a candle,

wondering when their men would return

Entrancing, the notes herald the majestic

Mournfully, the tune brings us to that sad place

and makes it okay--to feel the pain vanquished

A single note played on the bagpipes, then another,

will roll through the air--and find our people

And we shall hear the heartbeat of our kith

When we congregate with other listeners,

each person will exchange a look of kenning

It is in our blood, our hearts--we are united

The music speaks of the gloaming, of heather and

cold winds, of young love and love lost, of green

hillocks and brisk-watered lochs, and of the wee

folk who used to dwell in the woodland

When the life of the land beckoned to one

and all, and united us through nature;

that is the heart of Celtic music…

it hunts for our souls, slips under our skin

and binds us as kin.

Copyright 2006 by Kathy Pippig Harris

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"When the setting sun is just off the horizon, and a golden swath of color shoots out over the land; between that moment and nightfall is my favorite time of the day."--KPH

"There is something very comforting in the twilight, something that speaks to one's soul, in the blanket of green-silver shadows and the gentle breeze that soothes the spirit."--KPH