A Celtic Miscellany

Magic rain magic mist magic dew magic hail
Magic darkness magic sea magic waves magic
River magic fountain magic well magic spring
That bursts forth when a magic spear pierces
Rock magic oak tree magic ash magic lime tree
Magic bough magic yew magic hawthorn magic
Tree to make you young again magic tree to
Prevent hunger magic thorn magic ivy magic
Fern magic blossom, mistletoe and mandrake
Magic wild grasses magic wheat magic breath
Magic blood magic feather magic dung magic
Piss magic mantle magic trousers magic veil
Magic hat magic chain magic sword magic
Shield magic hearth magic bench magic door
Magic cry of a deer or cry of a magic deer;
Seven as a magic number magic the human
Head for divination magic also the head of
A dog, magic too vessels that burst in the fire
To uncover disobedience magic the river
That rises to drown liars magic the stone
That causes silence magic the deep lake
That causes forgetfulness magic the hazelnut
That makes a lover foolish magic the stone
That banishes sorrow magic the charm bought
Cheaply in the form of small poetry books,
Or nine the magic number and the magic
Number seven again and the magic twelve also
And green as that magic color violet as magic
Red as magic black as magic white as magic
Purple also as a magic hue and also red again;
Magic also the felling of two oak trees in a wood
And the magic wand used by the Druids to
Find your beloved carried away by fairies—
And, when all else fails, magic the new-fangled
Blessings of Christians swarming into our oak
Wood now, making even the disappeared speak.

Source: Poetry (February 2019)