berry on the green
silver on the sedge
scarlet on the leaf
cloister in the heart
iron in the sky
freezing in the blood
purple on the sea
cloister in the heart
winds across the land
rains upon the fields
birds along the sand
cloister in the heart
death upon the wind
crying in the dark
blood upon the land
cloister in the heart
ripples on the mere
patterns in the sand
circles in the grain
cloister in the heart
candles in the hearth
silence in the dark
darkness in the year
cloister in the heart
tiles upon the roofs
light upon the walls
peace upon the town
cloister in the heart
© Nicola Slee
Image Cloister carving, Iona Abbey ©Natalya
(Cloister in the Heart appeared in Doing December Differently: An Alternative Christmas Handbook, co-edited by Nicola Slee and Rosie Miles, Wild Goose Publications, 2006).
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