Today Brendan Kennelly, his life and work, will be celebrated at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin in the presence of President Michael D. Higgins, Brendan Kennellys family and his many admirers from around the country.

It is a great honour for the Capital City of Dublin, where Brendan lived and taught and wrote for decades to bestow this occasion  upon him.

Below is a poem that will resonate to the many out there who suffer from addiction and cling to hope.  Don’t give up. Go forward.

Photography by Sandrine Brisset, from her book, Behind the Smile, Brendan Kennelly

THE HEALER

(FOR DR JOHN COONEY)

The horror of accusing morning light

Condemns me to another hideous day

Did someone cry? What did I do last night?

Was someone hurt? Insulted? What did I say?

My hands are crazy, blood streaks my eyes,

Jeering images flash havoc through my mind,

My mouth is full of muck and stupid lies,

I”m hell, I know hell’s taste and smell and sound.

Healer,  I hear you speak: your head and heart

Help  many a suffering man and woman

While I, like countless women and men,

Am learning how to tend and heal each hurt

With candid, gentle words profoundly human

Thanks to you, hope lives again’

Brenday Kennelly ©