Ask the Sheer Silence

I asked the wind,
whose breath hovered over the first waters,
how to pray
and it sang a  sparkling, starlit song.

My soul trembled
when I questioned the quaking earth,
And the stone rolled away from my heart.

Volcanoes and cascading waterfalls
poured forth hidden treasure
from within.

Leaves aflame with splendour
danced and leapt their reply
when I questioned the burning bush,
and I was consumed.

A pillar of cloud at dawn
danced too, and swirled its answer:
An eddying joyous unknowing.

I asked the sheer silence
how to pray,
and it answered,
in silence.

Gabby Dean 2010

The image is of seaweed-eating sheep on the beach on North Ronaldsay. Why this image?  The blending of the sea and sky and sand and water colour wash of shades... It is impossible not to hear the sheer silence, impossible not to pray in this place.