Sundown to sunrise marks the time of her travel,
with her white cow beside her and her mantel of stars.

Every house in the land has the door on the latch
with green rushes spread on the flagstone outside.

While the people inside await the arrival
of the Goddess of Springtime; the Keeper of Light.

She blesses the bright squares of cotton laid out on the bushes
granting good health to the wearers all year.

Three loud knocks declare she is present
to dispense her protection against lightning and storm.

Three loud knocks and her mantra repeating,
Open your door, open your eyes, open your hearts, let Brigid come in.

This poem was first published in Live Encounters February 2025.

---

Eileen Sheehan is from the Southwest of Ireland. One of the poems from her most recent collection, The Narrow Way of Souls (Salmon Poetry), featured on the Leaving Certificate English Syllabus. Anthology publications include Blackjack, with translations by Oana Lungu (editors Dorina Șișu and Viorel Ploeșteanu / Singur Publishing); Best Loved Poems: Favourite Poems from the South of Ireland (editor Gabriel Fitzmaurice with photographs by John Reidy/ Curragh Press) and The Deep Heart’s Core: Irish Poets Revisit a Touchstone Poem (editors Eugene O’Connell & Pat Boran/ Dedalus Press). A selection of her work appears on Poetry International Web. She has read at festival in Ireland and abroad and was Bealtaine Writer in Residence at The Seanchaí Kerry Writers’ Museum, Listowel.