Written while on retreat at Coolham, West Sussex in May 2014.
Calm and serene, yet busy in the depths,
Myriad life-forms in motion arise to the surface
Then submerge again and again
Without ceasing, as they perform
The daily round of their praiseworthy existence.
Motionless lily pads lying on still water
Resting, but on constantly widening ripples
Produced by endless movement in the depths
And above, as moorhens and the like triangles make
In response to nature’s constant beck and call.
As they glide across the surface of the lake,
The rippling motion widens more and more
And leaves behind a shimmering on
The surface, only to die away again
As if no life had ever been there at all.
Activity lessens now as darkness comes,
So the daily life of nature is more still
As if to refrain from the daily round,
Until at last, when new morn shall arise,
The lake will sing and dance to its tune once more.
Dominus-Iesus-est 