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Saint Bernard in the fields at Clairvaux. For Hilary.

Saint Bernard in the fields at Clairvaux. For Hilary.

That day as the sun set,
its afterglow flooded the world with light
like the meeting of heaven and earth; then
the great bell of the abbey tolled the vesper;
the workers in the fields lowered their scythes
and bowed their heads or knelt on the sharp stubble;
a grasshopper rested on the rough hem of my robe;
nature held its breath and knew eternity

I listened as the echo of the bell
took all my listening, and then
was heard no more; but listening remained;
the silence became full of all things, and
all things were praise and
all things were love and
all things were understanding:

there I heard no other;
there I saw no other;
there I understood no other;
but was infinity itself

love itself is understanding;
understanding is itself all love.

-Michael Shepherd

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3 Responses

  1. This is so beautiful. To read it and re-read it, to pause and linger , to taste the infinite in the words, to sit with it until I and the poem become one. This is Lectio Divina.

  2. At this time of year I always feel on the threshold of so many emotions and beautiful this poem reminds me to sit still , stop and just listen. Thank you