Kevin McManus is an award-winning poet and writer from Carrigallen, Co Leitrim.

He has published six novels so far and will publish his first poetry anthology entitled “Spirits in the forest” at the end of October.

The Light of the Water

The Autumnal equinox,
a festival for the Archangel Michael,
Mabon and Dionysus,
a gentle farewell to the emerald Summer,
a transition to the golden fire of Autumn.
A cornucopia of plenty,
thanksgiving to the radiant harvest queen,
torching the bone fire,
the cutting of the last grain,
the wholeness and vitality of the apple,
we reap what we sow.
The reckoning of nature,
a time of reflection,
contemplation and balance.
The sap in the oak sinks into the roots,
its leaves fall and decay to feed the earth,
the darkness is consuming the light,
the tide of the year is turning,
the gateway to Winter is opening,
colder days lie before us,
as the moon outshines the sun,
the night outlasts the day,
But the light it will return.