Skellig Islands

(County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael, famous for an early Christian monastery)  

Steep and rocky you incline towards the sky

Surrounded on all sides by the cold blue Atlantic

Spare and imposing, jagged and sharp

Offering no softness or refuge.

Yet many the monks who trod your cold paths,

Misty at morning and foggy at dusk

Hearts set on things bigger than they

Contemplating the Great One as they pray.

A life of hardship and isolation

Choosing the loss of family and friends,

What did you see in your silent contemplation

Watching the waves beat forward and back?

Buildings you built without machines

Great stone walls and gardens to sow

A life spent reading, praying and silent

And a small plot at the end with a view of the sea.

Your footsteps are still heard on the Skelligs

As many come searching to hear

The voice that you heard all those long years ago,

And answered with conviction and cheer.

I wander the pathways on a cold autumn day

The stark beauty itself is a balm

I hear the birds cries stir the depths of my heart

And know we are not here alone.