These are dark December days.
Not just the usual December darkness –
but a darkness made several shades deeper
by the shadow of Coronavirus
that cloaks all of our lives.

Grim times.

A splash of yellow
catches my eye
at the kitchen window
causing me to look again.
There, in the driveway,
reaching away up high
is a single yellow rose.
which sways gently
in an icy wind.

I’m surprised.
We had forgotten
all about this rose
which had spent all year
hidden
behind a honeysuckle.
December winds stripped the honeysuckle
of its leaves
so that it now stands bare
revealing this single yellow rose
standing tall and triumphant
in the depths of winter!

Thank you, Lord,
for our beautiful, yellow rose,
our swaying, golden beacon.
A welcome message of hope
from my wonderful God of Surprises
to reassure
and to brighten
dark December days.

© Claire Murray, 28th December 2020

It’s a December with a difference –
not only do we have
the doom and gloom of winter,
we also have a sense of sadness and fear
brought by Coronavirus.

Every day
I venture into our garden
to see what discoveries await me
and every day
there’s something new.

A massive toadstool,
resplendent in red
with white polkadots
(bigger than a plate!)

Two beautiful, pink, oriental flowers
which have sprouted, almost magically,
from the only two bulbs
that our squirrel hasn’t dug-up
(what can I say – he’s industrious
… and a little destructive
but oh, so cute!)

New leaves of bright green
on a wee, tiny shrub
that we rescued from cracks
in paving stones –
this shrub is thriving
in its new home!

A cheeky robin
who hops over beside me
and waits, with a beady stare,
for a scattering of suet pellets.

Evidence that a hedgehog
has visited our garden overnight
to forage in the (many!) fallen leaves –
wow!

So many wonders
in our garden,
so many little daily discoveries
to lift my spirits
in this dark winter of Coronavirus –
thank you, Lord!

© Claire Murray, 3rd December 2020