Homecoming
By Kenneth Mulholland
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'They return to the hall, and all are waiting.
Fire sings a song along the wood in the grating.
Outside, glide nightbirds crying,
and sighing pines whine along the darkened roads.
Yet here inside the homely halls folk dance,
and meet them and greet them with smiling faces.
Perchance a cup of wine they offer,
and food they suffer them to eat.
But their heart's meat is not in food.
It is in them, the hearth friends, the heart's friends.
Let the flames roar.
Let the dogs gnaw on their bones.
The traveller's eyes widen with delight.
For the peace of their homecoming is upon them.
And may it be upon us all,
since halls are homes wherein are friends.'