Crann na beatha Stories and Poetry Newsletter

Fáilte romhat! is é do crann na bheatha (Welcome to The Tree of Life)Welcome to Crann na beatha Short Stories and Poetry for Dec, 29th, 2023Your Irish scéalaí is back again with more stories and poems for everyone. Come in, grab a chair and sit you down for a wee bit while I read the picks I have for you.I have five short stories and a poem for you this week. All are science fiction and fantasy and Robert G. Longpré’s fifth chapter from his new book, Sanctuary.I want to apologize for last week’s awful readings and sound effects editing. I took on too many stories and poems and lost steam in the middle somewhere so that it sounded like I was falling asleep at the wheel. When I listened to it, I was embarrassed so I am going to make a change as we transition from 2023 to 2024.I won’t be reading quite so many stories and poems going forward so I can provide you, the audience, a better performance. I also moved all of my advertising to the closing portion of the show. I promise to keep trying to make things better for you.Thank you to everyone who listens and just know that we are all fallible and make mistakes. I am no exception. After all, we are all human in our various sizes, shapes and colors. We may all speak different languages and have different cultures but I would like to think that listening to a good story or a poem can make our troubles go away for a time, no matter where we are in the world.Hit the play button and give this a listen while you read what you can of the stories and poem I have listed below. I only found the poem to have that special link that will allow you to read it in its entirety. I will let you know when I post the link here.What Really Killed the DinosaursAliens! But it’s not what you think.Andrew DartBorn a SavageA messiah’s last breath in the oceans of EuropaCharles BastilleLady of Embrace and Spear’s ThrustNot all Englishmen survived MesopotamiaDavid PahorThe JanitorFirst Contact with aliens couldn’t have happened to a nicer guyDr. Casey LawrenceGabriel and GabrielaSpirits aglow.Bruno T. (This is the poem I mentioned that has a link for non-Medium readers to read the whole poem without the paywall.)Sanctuary — A Committee of AdultsChapter 5 — The women are given controlRobert G. LongpréI want to wish everyone a happy and safe weekend and I will return again next week with more stories and poetry to start 2024 off.Go raibh maith agat. Thank you for listening to the show today. I hope you enjoyed it. I try to offer everyone a variety of stories and poetry each week . Maybe something might touch your heart a little.Disclosure for everyone; In order to read the complete stories and poems, you will need to sign up for a subscription in Medium. If I see a link by the author on one of the stories to allow everyone to read it, I will let you know in the podcast.Please return again next week for another episode of Crann na Beatha Stories and Poetry.This once a week podcast is available to listen to in nearly every podcast platform out there, including YouTube.Share this podcast with your friends and relations, the more the merrier. Search for Crann na beatha Stories and Poetry in your favorite podcast app.Subscriptions are still free but I do have a donations tab on the rss.com webpage, and on my website at www.crann-na-beatha.com. I appreciate any support for my efforts to bring these stories and poems to you.I hope I have achieved my goal in helping you feel like we’ve been sitting under the Tree of Life together. As a Seanchaí, I want to continue to delight you with a story or a poem that may bring you a smile or make you think a little after we part for the day.As I say good bye this week, I wish to leave you with this Irish blessing as you go about your day. “Bless you and yours, as well as the cottage you live in. May the roof overhead be well thatched, and those inside be well matched.” Slán go fóill — which means goodbye for now in Irish.SláinteT. Ó Domhnaill — Gaelic SeanchaíThank you for reading Crann na beatha. This post is public so feel free to share it.Crann na beatha is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todomhnaill.substack.com/subscribe