I Lie Down with God

A Gaelic poem

Chi Rho page (folio 34r), The Book of Kells, c. 800, Columban monastery of Ireland or Scotland. Source: Trinity College Dublin

I LIE DOWN WITH GOD

I lie down with God, and may God lie down with me;
The right hand of God under my head,
The two hands of Mary round about me,
The cross of the nine white angels,
From the back of my head
To the sole of my feet.
May I not lie with evil,
And may evil not lie with me.
Anna, mother of Mary,
Mary, mother of Christ, 
Elizabeth, mother of John Baptist,
I myself beseech these three
To keep the couch free from sickness.
The tree on which Christ suffered
Be between me and the heavy-lying (nightmare),
And any other thing that seeks my harm.
With the will of God and the aid of the glorious Virgin.


From The poem book of Gael
Translation of Gaelic poetry into English prose and verse
by Eleanor Hull (1860-1935)
Published 1912