This year
we braced ourselves
for winter
knowing that it would be
a difficult time,
a challenging time.

And, indeed,
the long dark nights
were a perfect backdrop
for the darkness reported daily
on the news.

But this week
we see the first sign
of spring
as we walk through
Musgrave Park –
a clump of snowdrops
nestling shyly
beside a ragged bush.

And further up the road,
in Harberton,
hundreds of miniature daffodils
are beginning to sprout.

All around
there’s a very real sense
that the darkest days
are behind us.

Thank you, Lord,
for our first snowdrops –
those little buds of hope
heralding an end
to the dark days
of winter.

© Claire Murray, 21st January 2022