An Old Irish Blessing

May the blessing of light
be on you, light without and light within.

May the blessed sunlight
shine upon you and warm your heart till it glows
like a great peat fire, so that the stranger may
come and warm himself at it, and also a friend.

And may the light shine out of the eyes of you,
like a candle set in the windows of a house,
bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm.

And may the blessing of the rain
be on you - the soft sweet rain. May it fall upon
your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
And may the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many shining pool where the blue
of heaven shines, and sometimes a star.

And may the blessing of the earth
be on you - the great round earth;
may you ever have a kindly greeting
for them you pass as you�re going along the roads.
May the earth be soft under you when
you rest out upon it, tired at the end of a day,
and may it rest easy over you when,
at the last, you lie out under it.
May it rest so lightly over you that
your soul may be off from under it quickly,
and up and off, and on its way to God.

And now may the Lord
bless you, and bless you kindly.