IRISH BLESSING 1
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
IRISH BLESSING 2
May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.
May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you, and all your heart might desire.
May you have warm words on a cool evening,
a full moon on a dark night,
and a smooth road all the way to your door.
IRISH TOAST 1
May the dreams you hold dearest,
Be those which come true.
And the kindness you spread,
Keep returning to you.
IRISH TOAST 2
May your ANCHOR be tight,
your CORK be loose,
your RUM be spiced,
and your COMPASS be true.
IRISH TOAST 3
There are good ships,
And there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships,
Are friendships,
And may they always be.
IRISH TOAST 4
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you.
NAVIGATOR?S BLESSING
by littlegoldboat
May you see the way wherever the journey takes you,
sailing safely over rough water
and weathering the waves' dips and crests.
May you find treasure in Earth's infinite variety,
beauty and surprise.
May you hear the ocean's music in every shell you hold to your ear.
May your boat fill with insight, laughter, generosity and love
as you discover new landscapes and explore the wide expanse of memory.
MY BEAUFIFUL CRUISE
by Marion Schoeberlein
(adapted from "My Beautiful Day")
I borrowed a poem from the sky,
And music from a bird,
I stole a chime out of the wind,
And from the clouds a word.
I borrowed a song from the waves,
A prayer from the silver rain,
I took the whispers of angels,
To fill the jib and the main.
As each little thing was added,
It really could not fail,
With God's help I put in my mind,
A wonderful relaxing sail!
THE EDGE OF NIGHT
by Clay Harrison
Today I walked beside the sea
and felt my Savior there with me.
We left no footprints int he sand
for the tide erased them from the land.
The sun began to fill the sky
with scalet ribbons floaiting high,
and amber clouds that once were white
changed to gold at the edge of night.
The winds caressed me like a prayer
because they knew that God was there,
and in the twilight's purple haze
my heart was filled with joyful praise.
THE CLOUD (third verse)
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
... I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky:
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain, when with never a stain
The pavilion of heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, --
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise, and unbuild it again. ...
A NEW BEGINNING
by Virginia Borman Grimmer
Each day's a new beginning,
We sail an unknown course,
But if we trust the Master
And seek Him as our source,
He'll guide our ship of hours
As we strive to chart our way,
And we'll feel a reassurance
That will comfort all the day.
For when we ask our Father
To help us at day's help,
He'll strengthen and sustain us
With love to overwhelm.
Cast me not off in my old age;
As my strength fails, forsake me not...
-
Psalm 71:9
A Parable Of Immortality
by Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs
like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says,
' There she goes! '
Gone where?
Gone from my sight... that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment
when someone at my side says,
'There she goes!'
there are other eyes watching her coming...
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout...
'Here she comes!'
And that is dying.
