29th of April 2020

It has been possible for some of us in lockdown to appreciate walks in the spring blossom as well as the beauty of rivers and burns near us. I was reminded of this poem when walking along the banks of the Water of Leith. At a time when we may feel stuck or limited, the water is  still moving and flowing quietly but with a freshness and energy through the city. The river has many herons, often standing alert and still, feeding along its banks. 

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

From 'Tools of the Trade’ - Poems for  New Doctors edited by Dr Lesley Morrison, Dr John Gillies and Rev Ali Newel