The first fantasy book I ever read was A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeline L'Engle. My reading up until this point consisted of The Hardy Boys series, which I still credit for my love of reading. Nonetheless, Frank and Joe Hardy were pretty vanilla to say the least. A Swiftly Tilting Planet mesmerized me and really opened that door to how imaginative fiction could be. I still think about St. Patrick's Rune, which plays a part in the book. It's wonderful, and if I make any money from YA fantasy series I am writing, Camp Lac Igam (coming soon), I will get this poem tattooed on my arm. Here it is:
St. Patrick's Rune
At Tara in this fateful hour,
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the wind with its swiftness along its path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the Earth with its starkness
All these I place
By God's almighty help and grace
Between myself and the powers of darkness
I place all Heaven with its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the wind with its swiftness along its path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the Earth with its starkness
All these I place
By God's almighty help and grace
Between myself and the powers of darkness
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