May is a special time for me.
It’s the month of Our Lady
and it’s also the month
when I remember Danny
who was born in May,
died in May
and always took part
in the Rosary procession in May.

This year
we decide to do something special
for May
and so off we head
to the Mass rock
in Glenshane forest.

After a week
of heavy Springtime rain
paths are covered
with waves of pine needles
and puddles that ripple
as tadpoles wriggle.

Arriving at the Mass rock
we place a wee posy
at the shrine to Our Lady
before saying the Rosary
while birds chorus all around.
When a cuckoo calls
from a nearby tree
in this leafy glade,
it feels like a gift
from Our Lady –
idyllic.

Back home in Belfast
a friend invites me to join her
for a trio of Rosaries
in West Belfast.

A Rosary in the rain
at the Calvary scene of Saint Paul’s
as noisy traffic rushes by.

A whispered Rosary
inside Saint Paul’s
during Adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament.

A final Rosary
as we walk the wee streets
around Saint Paul’s.

This is a far cry
from the stillness and birdsong
of Glenshane
and it’s definitely not idyllic
but Our Lady has another gift for me –
a memory.

This is a memory
of a photograph of Danny
taken during his final Rosary procession
along the Andersonstown Road,
as he walked along,
Rosary beads swinging from his hands.

I can’t help wondering
whether Danny is looking down
on the two of us
as we walk along,
Rosary beads swinging from our hands
in our own, wee, Rosary procession.
I reckon Danny would be delighted
and I find myself grinning
at the thought.

May – a special time.
A time to pray to Our Lady,
a time to remember Danny
and a time to allow Our Lady
to shower us
with her gifts.

© Claire Murray, 23rd May 2022