. Others would scream, The burning, the flame— Such seering cold and hollow Open grave, if they could ever Breathe in as the dirt piled on And the graveyard rushed, fell To bury all that was, doffed flesh My torment and pain, of my loss, A name as even the wind forgot As it wailed, lost, lone, keening After banshee had spoken, No— in my skin, others Would pray, forgive.
The banshee (or banchee), from Irish: bean sí [bʲæn ˈʃiː] ("woman of the barrows") is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the underworld.
In legend, a banshee is a faery woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die. In Scottish Gaelic mythology, she is known as the bean sìth or bean nighe and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Alleged sightings of banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. Similar beings are also found in Welsh, Norse and American folklore.