‘Pause and Ponder’ is a series of reflections inspired by the Pilgrim Path at Lough Derg.
The latest reflection from this series is highlighted below.
‘Frosty Lockdown’ along the Pilgrim Path. 11 January 2021.
Frosty Lockdown
The frost has not let go all day,
holding nature in cold lockdown.
Some sunlight for a time dispelled the gloom,
but in the end it did not make much difference.
The puddles beneath our feet stayed locked in ice,
their glassy broken shards neither mending nor melting.
At the quarry, the cross itself is frozen,
simply enduring, like the great rock behind.
The one and only oak tree on the path
stands quite exposed against the sky,
holding its ground until the storms have passed
every last leaf long since fallen.
Here on these frosted twigs the icy rime
covers but does not hide the tight-wrapped buds
that bide their time
for a spring that will surely follow.
Fr La Flynn, Prior
The earlier reflections are listed below
Reflection Day of New Beginning
Reflection Muddy Tracks
Reflection ‘Midwinter Holly’
Reflection ‘Pilgrimage in the Frost’
Reflection ‘Old Roots, New Shoots’
Reflection ‘The Blessing of Space’
Reflection ‘Reflecting on Reflections’
Reflection ‘Insignificant Sphagnum’
Reflection ‘The Magic of Mushrooms’
Reflection ‘The Gift of the Rainbow’
Reflection ‘The Uphill Path’