I have just returned from some time spent on the west coast of Ireland and the east coast of Scotland. It was wonderful to be amidst the sounds of wind and wave, and amidst the stretch and pull of hill and glen. The photo above shows the walk which we began at sea level and enjoyed the walk amidst glorious heather. As I emerge from the fog of jetlag I return today to an earlier post. W.B. Yeats’ most celebrated poem might well be The Lake Isle of Innisfree written in 1888. Homesickness or nostalgia? The real place of Innisfree is in Co. Sligo, Ireland. Yeats spent many summers there as a child, and the poem was a result of a sudden memory of his childhood while walking in London. Please join Yeats in his dream of going to where he can find peace and happiness, and where he can ponder the deep heart’s core. Where might you go, and what do you hope to find there? For you, what is at your deep heart’s core?
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Prayer:
Holy God
the story of the scriptures
is one of people hearing your call.
One by one, they arose and followed.
Help me I pray
to arise and go,
to go, where you lead.
To go, and to do so, believing.
To go, and to do so, hoping.
To go, and to do so, loving.
Be present O Lord
in my deep heart’s core.
Amen.
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 
thanks Eddie, yes the call of God is heard everywhere in many voices and in silence. (Silent and Listen is made up of same letters!)
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Every time I read this poem I think of Thoreau, or of Robert Frost and the theme of solitude in his works. I recently read an article by a woman who has chosen to spend her retirement years alone, at home, and without company because it is the only place where she finds peace.
While going to a special location or beloved place might bring a sense of peace to some, I choose to visit my memories when I long for a look into my deep heart’s core. It’s where I can find all good things, far from the exhausting and troubling social culture in which we now live.
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