The Linnet's Wings | Page 71

WINTER ' FOURTEEN Skellig Michael by Mary Lee Was the monastery building, the hand chiseling of each stair, a body torture? Was it joy to carve two thousand three hundred steps from sandstone to reach the pinnacle of the Skellig? Did the forced quarantine by Atlantic’s turbulent exposure impose indefinite isolation, bravery, silent endurance? And was it soul-stirring to witness the massive power of ocean surge, the unyielding persistence of Skellig rock? Did the monotony of circling, wailing sea birds dull the senses, quell desire to raise the heart in prayer? And was the Divine Word in every soaring bird, every fledgling flutter? The Linnet's Wings Poetry, Winter 2014