May there be a road
May your path always be clear
May your journey never fail
May your trail not disappear

May there be a road
May your burdens all be light
May the obstacles you reach
be not too high for you to climb

May there be a way
May there be a road
May your journey always reach
Just where you dare to go

and when your journeys cross
even those whom you don’t know
offer them the hope
May there be a road

© L. Rose

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day for us in the U.S., I decided to post this poem (or blessing) I wrote when thinking about a saying I read, years ago, in Louis L’Amour’s book, The Walking Drum(link to Goodreads). It has been a long time since I read the book, and I don’t have it handy, but it is one of my favorites. In the book he mentions an old (12th Century) saying: “Yol Bolsun,” or “May there be a road,” which I always considered a great valediction (farewell). It reminds me of an Irish blessing, and yet has middle-eastern origins, and involves travel – strangely appropriate for current events. No longer do we worry so much about rock-slides obstructing our paths; man-made obstacles are so much more difficult to climb over.

To you all, Yol Bolsun ~ May there be a road. Thank you for reading. – Linda