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A Poem for the Wind by Taliesin (6th Century ?) Timeline English version by Robert Williams Original Language Welsh Primal/Tribal/Shamanic : Celtic 6th Century ? Guess who it is. Created before the Flood. A creature strong, without flesh, without bone, without veins, without blood, without head and without feet. It will not be older, it will not be younger, than it was in the beginning. There will not come from his design fear or death. He has no wants from creatures. Great God! the sea whitens when it comes from the beginning. Great his beauties, the one that made him. He in the field, he in the wood, without hand and without foot. Without old age, without age. Without the most jealous destiny and he is coeval with the five periods of the five ages. And also is older, though there be five hundred thousand years. And he is as wide as the face of the earth, and he was not born, and he has not been seen. He on sea, he on land, he sees not, he is not seen. He is not sincere, he will not come when it is wished. He on land, he on sea, he is indispensable, he is unconfined, he is unequal. He from four regions, he will not be according to counsel. He commences his journey from above the stone of marble. He is loud-voiced, he is mute. He is uncourteous. He is vehement, he is bold, when he glances over the land. He is mute, he is loud-voiced. He is blustering. Greatest his banner on the face of the earth. He is good, he is bad, he is not bright, he is not manifest, for the sight does not see him. He is bad, he is good. He is yonder, he is here, he will disorder. He will not repair what he does and be sinless. He is wet, he is dry, he comes frequently from the heat of the sun and the coldness of the moon.     -- from Technicians of the Sacred: A Range of Poetries from Africa, America, Asia, Europe & Oceania, Edited by Jerome Rothenberg Amazon.com   / Photo by nikko russano /	Themes   Birth, Rebirth   Death   Fire   Moon   Sun Recommended Books Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman, by John Matthews / Caitlin Matthews Technicians of the Sacred: A Range of Poetries from Africa, America, Asia, Europe & Oceania, Edited by Jerome Rothenberg
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This is more than a poem in the common sense; it is an evocation, a summoning. Taliesin's words are chant-like, a driving, building rhythm of attributes. As he names these qualities, notice that he is also taking us through a series of transformations that lead to an awareness of unity.

Like a shaman in the great primal traditions, the bard is calling forth the presence of the Eternal within our awareness, using the wind as a metaphor.

Why the wind? The wind, like "the Great God" who created it, is powerful, covering everything, yet it is formless and intangible. It is "without flesh, without bone..." It is ancient before time, "Created before the Flood," and it is eternal, "It will not be older, it will not be younger, / than it was in the beginning."

To some readers, the following lines may seem like a fierce vision of the Divine:

He is bad, he is good.
He is yonder, he is here,
he will disorder.
He will not repair what he does

We must understand that these words do not proclaim a god or force of arbitrary actions, one that is alternately "bad" and "good." Instead, this is the great vision of the Divine beyond the duality of opposites. "He is bad, he is good." Everything flows from this all-pervading force, and it is only the limited vision of the mind that defines it as sometimes "good" or sometimes "bad." This is a vision of grand wholeness that shatters our limited notions of morality and opposites. This is shown by the many other lines where contrasts are brought into unity: "He is yonder, he is here... He is wet, he is dry... He is loud-voiced, he is mute."

The "disorder" is the overturning of our limited perception that divides reality into separate units of beings/objects/meaning, to be replaced by a living, fluid Oneness. To one still entranced by the illusion of duality, that sounds like chaos, "disorder." But, when that nondual awareness reveals itself, "He will not repair what he does," for it is already complete. It is the false order created in the mind that must be repaired.

Bold, primal, a soul confronting the great adventure...

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.