Ellan Vannin is the Celtic name for the Isle of Man, and the names of the characters are real Celtic names, and the triskelion is the three legged symbol
Of the Isle of Man, also a symbol associated with druidism.



Soft harp strings shivered longingly upon the flowering day
And Ceridwen’s smile was magic as it wandered down the bay,
For Ellan Vannin’s waters were all mist wrapped in the dawn
And Ceridwen’s love was blossoming, for it was not long born,
Within her deep contentment, she imagined Heddwyn’s face
As the morning sunlight cast his hair in windswept copper lace,
And the Druids nodded wisely with the mysticism of age
While the island’s breezes fluttered, as Ceridwen turned the page.


Ceridwen’s own Triskelion shone brightly on her breast
The sunlight gave such meaning to its ancient silver crest,
And when Heddwyn gave the garment as a token of his love
Harp music scattered jewelled notes from sacred realms above,
Before the days had turned to years, bold Heddwyn took his Bride
And wandered Ellan Vannin’s shores beneath her moonlit tide,
Then as the druids scattered runes, Ceridwen’s son was born
And he was named Iago by the bringers of the dawn.


Life’s chapters turned beneath the stars, as young Iago grew
And Heddwyn taught him truthfully, the wisdom that he knew,
Ceridwen watched as man and boy strolled peacefully along
The boy looked up and listened as his father sang a song,
As braided copper windblown dreams cast haloes round each head
Ceridwen called them home to eat, then packed them off to bed,
And their lives held joys and sorrows as the seasons turned around
For Ellan Vannin’s secrets held them all securely bound.


But on the island, pages turned within the book of life
And Heddwyn’s final chapters found him left without a wife,
He carried on for just a while to watch Iago grow
Then lay down quietly to drift upon the water’s flow,
Iago’s sorrow faded as the pages turned again
Leaving only precious memories and partly buried pain,
Then Ellan Vannin kissed him, and he gently took her arm
And his long lost memories cloaked him with a wondrous sense of calm…

Keith,
I have been re-reading this, over and over, as time permits. Thanks so much for the terminology explanation.

I write more colloquially and direct rather than so elegantly. Some can carry it off, some can't, for me, but here you did.

I am still reading it, but with no responses so far, thought that I would chime in that I liked it, and that the last verses wrapped up a life well lived and the comfort of that for me.

We are tied as much to our land and culture, as we are to life, which weave, makes the warp of life.
Thanks.