Message: Farewell to Tara!
Author: Bard of Leinster - Eldrich Niall
Date: Jan 17, 2001 09:52
As the ghastly wind whirls through the Bards' House, my eyes burn with unshed tears. This terrible tempest touches every person, striking a blow that rings sorrow to the core. So potent is this force that it would tear the truest of hearts asunder. Aching, I wrap Broom in my arms and we shudder together in helpless despair.

The silence that fills the hall after the wind departs is even more painful. Never before has the Bards' House known such stillness. Yet no one dares to break the spell. It weighs upon our hearts, choking our words and stifling our songs.

With a massive effort, I gather my strength, piece by piece. Memories fly by like the elusive cranes of Lough Mask, carrying me back to the earliest sounds I knew. The songs of the teal squawking on the waters. My mother's lullabyes. The rolling voice of thunder in the valley. Distant chants of the druids. The bold shouts of warriors swapping boasts at Samhain.

Clutching every remembrance to my soul, I weave the strands together into a tapestry of Celtic noise. The tunes, the tales, the drums and the dreams of the people spin out, lit and led by the fiery arrows of Brigid's endless inspiration.

Rising to my feet and bringing Broom with me, I reach out to Fleury, grasping her hand. We join with the others, each person latching onto the chain with firm defiance of the silence.

The wooden floor, the amazing windows, the guardian oak tree, and the golden glow of the hearth all fade away into the Kildare mists. The Bards' House disappears, to live on within the minds of those who gathered there.

"The harp that once through Tara's halls
The soul of music shed,
Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls
As if that soul were fled.
So sleeps the pride of former days,
So glory's thrill is o'er,