Pagan Poetry: "Brigid's Braid" by Elizabeth Barrette

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm a Pagan poet.  I write poetry across many different topics, but this is one of my main categories.  I've been published in major magazines including The Beltane Papers, Circle Network News, Green Egg, NewWitch, PagaNet News, PanGaia, and SageWoman.  I also wrote a book, Composing Magic: How to Create Magical Spells, Rituals, Blessings, Chants, and Prayers.  It explains all kinds of magical and spiritual writing, and it has two whole chapters specifically about poetry.  Most of the examples are Pagan but I included a few from other traditions, so it generalizes well for anyone who wants to learn about writing your own sacred material.  You can find many of my Pagan poems online.

I'd like to call your attention to one in particular, "Brigid's Braid."  It has special formatting so I'm not going to try recreating that here.  The poem is designed to be read aloud by three people working together, and yes, the lines actually do braid. (That was my partner's idea, braiding the lines together.  I worked out the rest of the form on my own.)  I wrote this for an Imbolc ritual and performed it with two other officiants.  It's a good example of how the structure of a poem can embody specific traits associated with its subject; in this case, a three-part poem for a triple goddess who is associated with braids.

Comments

[bookblather]

Wow, that is an awesome poem, with the braiding lines and the constant circles, twining together. It's like the wheel of the year, circling around and around in a spiral, never the same twice.

Do you have an audio recording of it?

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad you like it so much.

Alas, there is no audio recording at this time. I don't do audio myself. If someone wants to try that, however, I'm fine with it. Some of my other work has been recorded.