An Epiphany in Snow

It was predicted,
forecast, expected,
but, like death, still
took us by surprise:
everything the same yet changed,
a landscape both familiar and strange.
Our senses numbed and heightened,
pierced, muffled, blinded
by the white on every side;
the pale white of mourning
before enlightenment
descends
slowly
to hush outward frenzy,
still the grieving heart,
to bring us to a halt,
to our knees,
to right-minded clarity
which sees
the solace of your gently
fierce glory
now revealed.

Sr Laurentia, Epiphany 2025
©Stanbrook Abbey 2025