As the door closes on 2013, I can think of no better way to wish you a Happy New Year than through this poem from one of my all-time favourite Irish poets:
Let It Go
by
Brendan Kennelly
Let it go
Out of reach, out of sight,
Out of the door and the window,
Through the city,
Over the mountains
And the sea.
I do not mean a mere escape,
A deliberate loosening
Of a brutal grip
Like that of church on soul,
Father on son
Or even love on the lover’s beautiful
Surrender to the dear pain,
Or any sin or sickness that could
Swallow a man.
I mean a different thing
Beyond desire to acquire or captivate,
A felt relinquishing
Such as can be seen
When the air yields to the bird
Or the green
Trunk of a tree surrenders
To the tactful advance of moss
Or when the river stirs
Its surface
To accept a drifting stick.
I feel such courtesy
When I let it go
From me to countries
I will never know
And I stand, hoping to discern
Its breath in my heart
At its return.
