Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday, Week 44: Renewal

I'm doing double duty today as I am at the coast (perfect for the SJT theme of renewal). This post will serve for SJT and PF.

My mare-stanes (hag stone) at sunset at Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

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Fran of Lit Bits and Pieces is hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month.  She has a moving post about renewal and says, "In choosing the theme of renewal, I note that one definition of the word is resuming an activity after an interruption."

When I heard the topic of "renewal",  it was an "aha" as I have always viewed renewal as a spring time word.  As I study  Scots Gaelic, and the Celtic Calendar, we have entered a new year.  
Autumn is also renewal. The harvest is finished.Now it's the time of fall's decay,  the returning to the earth. The cold months are necessary for cleansing the land, for the renewal of the earth. And it's fitting that the Gaelic name for winter is  An Geamhrachd,  which is the Celtic word for cold.  

At Faith & Worship, I found a wonderful prayer for this time of renewal:

For the promise of harvest
contained within a seed
we thank you.
For the oak tree
within an acorn
The bread
within a grain
​The apple
within a pip
The mystery of nature
gift wrapped
for us to sow
we thank you

I found an article on A Focus On Nature by Chloé Valerie Harmsworth.  She has wonderful illustrations in the article.  I used the "A Time of Renewal: Autumn and Winter" for the following found poem.

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A Time of Renewal: Autumn and Winter Nature Found Poem
From the article by  Chloé Valerie Harmsworth 

change
the clocks have moved back
the days short

the nights deep and long
the atmosphere seems to alter 
so do I 

mist, chilling
creep through the cracks  
I swaddle
an instinct to hibernate

saving energy 
a constellation
of warm, breathing bodies, 
waiting for the dark to pass 
strengthened
this yearning of mine. 

we can enjoy simple
peaceful activities
go on life-affirming walks
so much to learn

the days and weeks descend
into deep winter
my attention turns
 
to the trees’ naked beauty
arms reaching out to the sky 
noisy, chattering corvids
bring energy to the moment 

the earth’s reawakening
shoots burst with spirit
this period of rest
and contemplation allows me

to open
like the first snowdrop
ready to restart, refreshed and rejuvenated. 

©Jone Rush MacCulloch, 2023 draft

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I am looking forward to hosting December's Spiritual Journey Thursday. as we head toward the shortest day, longest night, I am thinking about the importance of light in the dark of winter.

Our host for Poetry Friday is Buffy Silverman who is celebrating the arrival of her new book!