Hallowtide Files: The Gheeldyn

the wailing Bean Sidhe

the wailing Bean Sidhe

Come páistí beaga

and all gather round,

for this bean feasa has a tale

that must be unbound,

I shall speak of a woman,

part corporeal, part wraith,

Whom we all heard proclaiming

at dusk’s early wake.

Some call her a ghost,

an attendant to death,

In Hallowtide she is “The Gheeldyn”

never to rest,

But for us travelling tinkers

from a distant plain,

When speaking of her,

use a different name.

She hides in the lakes,

the rivers, the lochs,

She rises from the mists,

the mountains, the docks.

Cloaked in white vapour,

enveloped by grief,

Keening and screeching

she wanders the streets.

Each breath she breathes out

is a bitter frost,

So, pray now young traveller,

you do not get lost,

For she binds the darkness

leaving you blind,

frightening images she conjures

straight into your mind,

Of Kinsmen, Of Clansmen,

Of Lovers, Of Friends,

An unavoidable omen

of their fated ends.

If by choice or strange decree,

guilt and shame follow ye,

Warnings be heeded this Samhain eve night,

stay indoors till mornings light.

Because páistí beaga,

what I guarantee,

is that no one outruns

the wailing Bean Sidhe.

“the wailing Bean Sidhe” Original charcoal artwork — A.Casey

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Gaeilge translations:

páistí beaga — young children

bean feasa — wise woman

Samhain — first day of November

Bean Sidhe — Banshee / Fairy woman

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