Ogham Poem

This is a poem for memory, gratitude and devotion
 

Beith, sacred birch, bark shining in moonlight
Honoured are you who teach how it all begins

Luis, ash of mountain winds, scarlet of fruit
Honoured are you who guide us to step forward

Fearn, oil-rich alder of dark still waters
Honoured are you whose calm shields against fire

Saille, dreaming willow, softly singing catkins
Honoured are you who stills the soul’s passions

Nuinn, ash standing tall, with keys of bright knowing
Honoured are you who burn with strength and clarity

Huathe, ancient hawthorn, knarled and rugged crone
Honoured are you sharing life’s beauty and pain

Duir, sturdy oak, most revered of the meadow
Honoured are you who teach us of strength and care

Tinne, blessed holly, mellowing with age
Honoured are you who guide the sacrificial blade

Coll, most giving hazel, with nuts aplenty
Honoured are you whose song whispers of the web

Quert, solitary apple, fruit of love and death
Honoured are you, both sweet and sour in beauty


Muin, clambering bramble, offering your gifts to all
Honoured are you who teach of nature’s justice

Gort, greenest ivy, tenaciously climbing
Honoured are you who inspire us to keep trying

Ngetal, whispering reeds of soft swirling waters
Honoured are you who hold the songs of the land

Straif, tangling blackthorn, spring’s purest blossom
Honoured are you who judge both beauty and power

Ruis, elder of the wood, from maiden to hag
Honoured are you who guide our livng and dying

Ailim, gentle, solitary, evergreen pine,
Honoured are you whose broad vision fills the mind

Ohn, bright yellow gorse, bursting with life
Honoured are you who lift the soul from grey pain

Ur, quiet heather, who keep your own company
Honoured are you when we forget the joy of tribe

Eadha, trembling poplar, laughing in the wind
Honoured are you who sing of the open skies

Ioho, most sacred yew, keeper of silent wisdom
Honoured are you who bear the lives of the dead

Such are the trees who share with us this land
Such is the widsom bequeathed by our ancestors

Bobcat (Emma Restall Orr) 2008