Poem of the Week | July 25, 2016
Christopher Nelson: "Imbolc"
This week, we are excited to offer a poem by Christopher Nelson. Nelson is the author of Blue House, published in the Poetry Society of America’s Chapbook Series, and Capital City at Midnight, recipient of the 2014 BLOOM Chapbook Prize. He is editor of Under A Warm Green Linden, an online journal of poetry founded in 2008. Visit www.christophernelson.info.
Author’s note:
We mark the midpoint between solstices and celebrate or dread those days, the spring and autumn equinoxes; but we don’t officially note the midpoint between solstice and equinox, which is a time when suggestions of seasonal shifts become pronounced. I feel and see it in early February every year: lengthening daylight and less extreme cold. I wanted to learn if there were any traditions or rituals associated with this one-eighth-of- the-year mark, this midpoint between midpoints. Imbolc is a Gaelic celebration that does just that. Also called Saint Brigid’s Day, it has ancient roots and is still practiced in parts of Ireland.
Imbolc
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