Croagh Patrick Triptych

Croagh Patrick, County Mayo, Ireland, on the road from Louisburgh to Westport, with an elevation of 2,513 feet, overlooking Clew Bay, scene of pilgrimages today and August 15 and Reek Day (the last Sunday in July), where St. Patrick is said to have fasted and prayed for 40 days in Lent in 441, where I climbed part of the way last October, and where I strayed from the path looking for a shortcut to a mysterious bowl-shaped landform, only to encounter boggy, soggy meadows of green and a rock with shamrock-shaped lichen, and where, back on the "normal," rocky path, Fintan with a flinty smile and walking stick told me,"You don't want to be doing that, I've tried it, and anyway that's where Patrick cast the demons."


Three Haiku

misty cloud shadows
simmering sunlight bursting
verdant moss islands

Clew Bay horizon
invigorating crispness
birthday calls Stateside





Patrick's spirit lurks
pilgrims trekking up and down
gleeful light airy

All blessings on St. Patrick's Day.

For a splendid biography, I recommend The Wisdom of St. Patrick, by the inestimable Greg Tobin.

All photos, text, and blarney copyright 2007 by The Laughorist.