.
A mistle thrush was singing
As if all the world were ringing
With the hopes of every soul
.
The year was at its ending
But the light was growing, mending
Darkness which could never wrestle ultimate control.
.

Words and Thoughts, for Life
.
A mistle thrush was singing
As if all the world were ringing
With the hopes of every soul
.
The year was at its ending
But the light was growing, mending
Darkness which could never wrestle ultimate control.
.

No prayers were said there
but a stilling of the heart’s grinding
that was peace enough
~
We walked on discovering
at every turn a new vision
of unimagined grandeur
each differently lovelier than before
~
Perhaps heaven will be like this
a walk across the moor
on an everlasting day.
~
Photograph – Hooney Tor, Dartmoor, Devon, UK, December 2024

We saw
the arch of glory
.
Which framed
our story
.
Of birth
Childhood and growth
.
What would be next
We wondered
.
Gazing
At the richest colours
.
In fascination
Both.
~
Photograph – Rainbow seen from Dartmoor, December 2024
~

What a mystery
It is to exist
~
Life passing
Like a surprising mist
~
Rising over the hills
Revealing sights
~
More wonderful
More beautiful still.
~
The days grew shorter
Then there was a storm
~
And the winds blew stronger
It was harder keeping warm
~
The shortest day just came and went
And in my astonishment
~
It came to mind
That after so much darkness
~
Now there would be light.
~
Image: Sunrise at Wroxeter, Shropshire – December 2023

A bullfinch perched
Right outside my window
~
They are so shy
This was a notable occurring
~
And my heart lifted
Just to watch him for a moment
~
With his bright red body
And rich black head
~
These unplanned revelations
The greatest part of my learning.
~
Image – A fleeting glimpse of a bullfinch, Morchard Bishop, December 2024

A Moment to Glide
A moment to glide
while the wind’s favourable
and the air is free
~
Like joy, sensation,
spontaneity.
~
Image: Red Kite over The Stiperstones, Shropshire

This egret
And these Devon hills
~
And the view across
The estuary
~
Light flooding like the tide
From oceans of sky
~
The moment of beauty
Is a mystery.
~
Photograph: Egret at Topsham, Devon – November 2024

The buzzard flying away
Turning to look at me
~
Behind him
The infinite blue sky
~
As if in his freedom
He had greater depths than me
~
In his affinity
With what is on high.
~
Photograph – buzzard, Morchard Bishop, Devon, December 2024

First night
No noise
Starlight
And silence.