5 cygnets and behind them a white swan took off low over the river and one by one landed.
The cygnets swam on towards Stourbridge leaving the swan behind.
What joy it must be for them and what joy it is for us!
We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we ourselves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light,
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed .
"We sing for a moment, not only with the angels, but with those whom we have loved and see no longer, those with whom we are still bound together in the communion of saints..."
I opened a box of eggs and found one with this beautiful feather:
white and a gentle russet colour.
I put it on the window sill in the kitchen
I took a picture of the egg and the feather trying to catch something of the lightness of the feather.
It was leaning against weights which live on the window sill and I thought the small jam jar was nice too.
Looking at the picture, I saw the juxtaposition of the very light and the heavy and thought of moods,
what weighs on the mind and the choice of lightness.
I tried to make the contrast more obvious.
The next day I read an article by Ian Brown in which he quotes Jean Vanier
"If you want to live in hope and not fear, you have to tell the truth and declare your fragility."
It is always difficult to find a title and easy to borrow someone else's words, so I did.