IN THE CARDS

Sceala Clann Counsellor Location: Tir Na Nog

IN THE CARDS

'Tis in the cards
The Gypsy Lady says
What shall come to pass
In these strangest of days

She wore a scarf
Wrapped 'round her head
In vivid colors of
Green, purple, gold and red

Sparklin' silver bands
Upon both wrists
Her full lips as red
As if just kissed

"Will ye come
And have yer fortune told?
Are ye game, Young Lass?
Are ye feelin' bold?"

The adventure laid before me
I feel overwheming doubt
I hesitate...what might the Gypsy see?
But I don't want to miss out!

She smiles... "Think about yer question, Lass
While yer shufflin' the cards...
Don't look at me, just concentrate
And focus very hard..."

"Ah, very well ye've done, My Girl
Yer a card shuffler most deft...
Concentrate ye now on the cards again
And cut in three piles to the left..."

I do as told, hands tremblin'
Shuffle and carefully cut
The mysterious cards before me
Lay in three neat piles but...

The Gypsy quickly stacks them
"And now 'tis time, My Lass
To hear the things the present holds
And what shall come to pass"

I close my eyes a moment
And breath in deep and slow
I am fascinated and want to stay
I'm scared to death and want to go!

The Fortuneteller's hands move fast
A cross of cards before her lies
"'Tis the Celtic Cross I'm layin' out
And these cards that I shall scry."

She silently stares at the pretty cards
As if she'd lapsed into a trance
Then after what seems forever
Says, "So, ye wish to know of romance?"

"Aye" say I "I do so wish
To know if I one day
Will meet my own true lover
And with him sail far away..."

Her eyes close tightly shut then
A long moment passes by
"What 'tis it? Is it bad?" I ask
About ready to cry...

Then the Gypsy's face did brighten
Dark clouds reveal the sun
"Romance, my Irish Lassie,
Is a treasure must be won..."

"Somewhere there lays a fortune
Far greater than gold
More precious than silver
Or the rarest gem I'm told"

"But, Gypsy!" I cry out to her
"What of my own love true?
I care not for gold or silver
Or gemstones of green or blue."

The Gypsy laughed, a lovely laugh
Like the distant church bells song
"So, ye would turn down a fortune
Ye so do for true love long?'

My shoulders squared, I answer
"For true love I would indeed
I'd swim the length of all Clew Bay,
Climb Croagh Patrick on bare knees"

"My, my!" the impressed Gypsy cried
"Most empassioned you do be...
So since ye are so sure of this...
Shall ye now hear what I see?"

I breathe in, most expectently
Long have I hoped to know
"Oh, Gypsy, tell me, tell me now
Before I have to go!"

A smile slyly smooths her lips
Still red as a garden rose
"Och, since ye are a polite lassie
I shall tell ye, I suppose."

"The fair haired King of Cups ye loved
Since ye were just a child
Ye promised one day to return to him
And the Western Sands of our Faire Green Isle"

"The gray warrior upon his steed
Is the dashing King of Swords
Ye have met him once before in life
And had yer share of angry words"

"The King of Wands, like Mercury
Shall dazzle ye with quicksilver charms
And seduce ye if ye fall into
His open, waitin' arms"

"Lastly, the King of Pentacles
Unexpectedly shall appear
His love shall brush yer cares away
And banish all yer fears..."

The Gypsy stops, and waits a bit
Until I finally say
"Ye have spoken not of one true love
But of four different loves today."

"Ye are a lucky lassie, Dear."
The Gypsy passes her graceful hand
Over all the cards laid in front of her
"Now ye know just where ye stand."

"But I wish to know my one true love!"
With frustration deep, I cry
"Is it the lad I once did love?
Or someone else who'll make me sigh?"

"A lucky, lucky Lady
Ye certainly do be...
Why, Lassie could be any of them
Number one, two, four or three!"

"Love shall be what ye make it
No matter whom ye choose
If ye take yer time to know yerself
Ye can only win, not lose."

I shake my head with wonder
How can any of this be true?
"So yer tellin' me, that ye don't know
If 'tis four, three, one, or two?"

"Nay, not at all!" The Seer laughs
"The cards are very clear...
But if I told ye exactly what they say
I might yer fortune wrongly steer..."

"Each of us has a free will...
Each of us has a voice...
Each one of us faces decisions
Which lead us to a choice..."

"And so shall ye, dear Lassie...
When the cards are all played out
Rest assured a choice ye'll finally make
Of that there is no doubt..."

"Ye surely shall find yer own true love
As in the morn the mists do rise
And when ye find yer one true love
For him only shall ye have eyes."

I shake my head, amazed
Could this be really as I hear?
All this way I've come for answers
And not one answer is clear...

"Do not despair of such, my Child
Yer weddin' day shall come to pass
And someday so shall children
All of it one day, dear Lass..."

With her right arm holdin' fast her shawl
She with the left hand points the way
"The door is to the right, my Dear
Send in the next one, straight away!"

My session over, no mystery solved
I don't know what to do next
So I just do what the gypsy said
And into her parlor, go perplexed...

"Yer turn..." I say to someone
For I am too confused to care
Yet something compels me to look up
And then I cannot help but stare...

There in the gypsy's parlor
Four handsome men await
The Fortuneteller's handiwork
Each has come seekin' their fate...

One is fair, another dark
The third one's hair red as a flame
The fourth one looks into my eyes
How odd, I wish I knew his name...

They smile at me...and I smile back
Coincidence? I don't know
But suddenly, I understand
The Gypsy's words and go....

No one can tell the future
Till the future comes to pass
But the present's here before us
Clear as polished window glass

The Gypsy's done me great favor
Given me a gift so rare
At first I couldn't see it
Even though straight at it I stared

The gift of time, of precious time
To know my mind and me
And with whatever magic in the cards
Make my own reality...

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IN THE CARDS