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st, Chafed by the marble turrets that they hide. Beneath Ibrickan's hills, moory and tame, And Inniscaorach's caves, so wild and dark, I sailed along. The white-faced otter came, And gazed in wonder on my floating bark. The soaring gannet, perched upon my mast, And the proud bird, that flies but o'er the sea, Wheeled o'er my head: and the girrinna passed Upon the branch of some life-giving tree.[56] Leaving the awful cliffs of Corcomroe, I sought the rocky eastern isle, that bears The name of blessed Coemhan, who doth show Pity unto the storm-tossed seaman's prayers; Then crossing Bealach-na-fearbach's treacherous sound, I reached the middle isle, whose citadel Looks like a monarch from its throne around; And there I rested by St. Kennerg's well. Again I sailed, and crossed the stormy sound That lies beneath Binn-Aite's rocky height-- And there, upon the shore, the Saint I found Waiting my coming though the tardy night. He led me to his home beside the wave, Where, with his monks, the pious father dwelled, And to my listening ear he freely gave The sacred knowledge that his bosom held. When I proclaimed the project that I nursed, How 'twas for this that I his blessing sought, An irrepressible cry of joy outburst From his pure lips, that blessed me for the thought. He said that he, too, had in visions strayed Over the untracked ocean's billowy foam; Bid me have hope, that God would give me aid, And bring me safe back to my native home. Oft, as we paced that marble-covered land, Would blessed Enda tell me wondrous tales-- How, for the children of his love, the hand Of the Omnipotent Father never fails-- How his own sister,[57] standing by the side Of the great sea, which bore no human bark, Spread her light cloak upon the conscious tide, And sailed thereon securely as an ark. And how the winds become the willing slaves Of those who labour in the work of God; And how Scothinus walked upon the waves, Which seemed to him the meadow's verdant sod. How he himself came hither with his flock, To teach the infidels from Corcomroe, Upon the floating breast of the hard rock, Which lay upon the glistening sands below. But not alone of miracles and joys Would Enda speak--he told me of his dream; When blessed Kieran went to Clonmacnois, To found the sacred churches by the stream-- How he did weep to see the angels flee Away from Arran as a place a
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