Aisling (ASH-ling): Irish, Old Gaelic; meaning vision or dream; a poetical or dramatic description or representation of a vision.

The aisling, or vision poem, is a poetic genre that developed during the late 17th and 18th centuries in Irish language poetry. In Irish Gaelic mythology, and in Irish poetry, the aisling figure is a maiden who stands metaphorically for the spirit of the land and country of Ireland. In an aisling, the island of Ireland appears to the poet in a vision in the form of a woman, sometimes young and beautiful, sometimes old and haggard. This female figure is generally referred to in the poems as the sky-woman. She laments the current state of the Irish people and predicts an immanent revival of their fortunes.