The Lost Words (Autumn 2019)
The Lost Words (Autumn 2019)
"Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed - until one day, they were gone.
But there is an old kind of magic for finding what is missing, and for summoning what has vanished. If the right spells are spoken, the lost words might return..."
Robert MacFarlane
New words are being found all the time, words such as 'google' and 'selfie', but other words are being lost - powerful, ancient words such as 'acorn', 'bluebell', 'kingfisher' and 'wren'. Through the beautiful book, 'The Lost Words' by author Robert MacFarlane and artist Jackie Morris, we will rediscover these words and the worlds that lie behind them. We will immerse ourselves in poetry and art, in nature and in the Great British countryside discovering something deeper, something magical...
The Lost Words Blessing
Enter the wild with care, my love
And speak the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you travel far from heather, crag and river
May you, like the little fisher, set the stream alight with glitter
May you enter now as otter without falter into water
Look to the sky with care my love
And speak the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you journey on past dying stars exploding
Like the gilded one in flight, leave your little gifts of light
And in the dead of night my darling, find the gleaming eye of starling
Like the little aviator, sing your heart to all dark matter
Walk through the world with care, my love
And sing the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you stumble through machair sands eroding
Let the fern unfurl your grieving, let the heron still your breathing
Let the selkie swim you deeper, oh my little silver-seeker
Even as the hour grows bleaker, be the singer and the speaker
And in city and in forest, let the larks become your chorus
And when every hope is gone, let the raven call you home