"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 pit fire, so that the stranger may come

and warm himself at it, as well as the 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,

that they beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean,

and leave there many a shining pool, 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 people you pass

as you are going along the roads.

May the earth be soft under you when you rest upon it, 

tired at the end of the day, 

and may it rest easy over you when, 

at the last, you lay out under it;

May it rest so lightly over you, 

that your soul may be out 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.

Mergen@