This poem was inspired by a moment of brightness that lit up my garden in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the background is the picture of a little child, full of wonder in discovering the world. There is also the idea that the glimpses of beauty revealed in Creation, and in acts of kindness, are a foretaste of being in God’s presence in Heaven itself, as described for us in the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Metaphorically speaking, our present life is a prelude to an even more beautiful piece of music, one that will be perfect and eternal. Eternity can feel far away from us, but, in another sense, it is very near, just as God is. This piece is dedicated to the Northern Irish singer and hymn writer Kristyn Getty, and to all my friends who seek to point others, including their children, to the beauty in God’s creation, and to God himself.
Prelude
This new day, in early spring,
there is sunlight in the garden through the leaves.
The sky is clear.
Moments like these bring bright music to the soul:
canticles of birdsong
in the still air.
Like kindness, they are doors left ajar.
Through them appear glimpses of other places
beckoning to explore:
spaces that are tall and wide
and full of wonder in the eyes of a child.
With streams and trees and light and singing
but without tears.
A better world we long for always,
in a time beyond our own, but yet so near.
Sharon Jones lives in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and lectures at Stranmillis University College, Belfast. She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge, and later wrote her doctoral thesis on Spanish literature and theology. Sharon enjoys music and is a member of New Irish Arts https://www.newirisharts.com/. Sharon grew up on Ireland’s North Coast, and loves spending time with her husband and three grown up children beside the sea. Her writing has been published in a range of journals including Irish Studies Review, The Irish Times, and The Round Tower Review. Sharon writes a personal blog at https://writinghome.blog/author/perusalandscript/
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Citation Information
Sharon Jones, “Prelude,” An Unexpected Journal: Saints and Sanctuaries 5, no. 1. (Spring 2022), 1-2.
