Seeds of Silence:finding space with God​
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Weekly Poems during Covid-19 

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​All 50+ poems posted weekly by Seeds of Silence during the first year of Covid-19 in the UK.


​In the first year of Covid-19, Seeds of Silence posted and emailed out a 'Weekly Poem' to support and encourage people in the uncertainty of it all.

In the early months, many of the poems were written in response to the pandemic. ​Later, poems from the fifteenth-century onwards were included.

All 50+ of the poems are now collected here.

Each poem below is backed by an image that seeks to reflect its themes.
They are in reverse date order of the original Seeds of Silence postings.
'Sometimes' by an award-winning poet who asks not to be credited whenever it is reproduced
Edwina Gateley, 'Surrender', inviting us to leave all in God's hands
Antonio Machado, 'The Wind, One Brilliant Day', reflecting on how we use our gifts
A. S. J. Tessimond, 'Day Dream', which offers hope for the future
R. S. Thomas, 'The Moor', speaking to Covid-made absences in practicing our faith
Denise Levertov', 'The Avowal', inviting us to trust in God's all-embracing grace
Dorianne Laux, 'Dust', reawakening our attention when we're exhausted
Paul Booth, 'Letter to a passing year', with its blessing amidst the sorrow
George Herbert, 'The Pulley', inviting us to rest once more in God
Carla Grosch-Miller, 'A January Prayer', reminding us of simple pleasures
John O'Donohue, 'This is the time to be slow',  inviting  kindness and hope
Nicola Slee, 'The Slaughter of the Innocents', remembering children in terror today
Joyce Rupp, 'Winter's Cloak', reframing darkness as rest from what dazzles us
John Donne, 'Nativitie', inviting reflection on the room in our hearts for Christ
U.A. Fanthorpe, 'BC:AD', inviting us to ponder again the mystery of Christ's birth
Kabir, 'Breath', (15th century) inviting us to reconsider where God is found
Jane Kenyon, 'The Bat', inviting us to reflect on the illusive Holy Spirit and Mary
Kerry Hardie, 'Autumn's Fall', inviting us to ponder the inevitability of death
Rowan Williams, 'Advent Calendar', inviting reflection on Christ's coming amongst us
Elizabeth Jennings, 'November Sonnet', inviting engagement with 'right doubt'
Paul Booth, 'Drawing In', inviting us to ponder the evening of our lives
Edith Joy Scovell, 'Deaths of Flowers', inviting reflection on death and life
Jane Hirshfield, 'Three times my life has opened', inviting reflection on letting go
David Tait, 'Candles', inviting us to remember Covid-19's global  toll on lives
R S Thomas, 'I think that maybe', about our small steps towards God
Raine Maria Rilke, 'God speaks to each of us', inviting us to embrace life
Alison Woolley, 'A mid-Covid Reflection': amalgamated parts of poems used June-October
Pesha Joyce Gertler, 'The Healing Time', inviting us to journey with pain and grief
Kae Tempest, 'People's Faces' and Imogen McBeath dance solo, Memory Of A Body​
Arlene Arshack,'Tangled Times', inviting us to imagine how the world could be
D. H. Lawrence, 'Pax', reminding us that all that matters is knowing peace with God
Zaffar Kunial, 'The Word, with its invitation to reflect on the gift of life
Denise Levertov, 'Primary Wonder' - the mystery of life sustained by divine love
Mary Oliver, 'The Summer Day' with a striking 'Question' that Rosie Miles responds to (next)
Rosie Miles, 'Question': a response to Mary Oliver's  'The Summer Day'
Esther Morgan, 'Epiphany', with its reminder that each moment is a gift from God
Martha Postlethwaite, 'Clearing', inviting us to make space and to ​wait patiently
Malcolm Guite, 'Exaltabo te, Domine' - I will magnify Thee, O Lord (Psalm 30)
George Szirtes, 'Summer storm', calling us to reflect on what normality really is
Adrian Salmon, 'Almost', with advice on ​what to do when we almost give up
Linda Rose Parker, 'A gate inside the wind', a reminder to be ​open to new things
Alison Woolley, 'A Reflection': amalgamated small sections of the poems used, March-June 2020
Grace Nichols, 'Harbour' , with an ending that echoes the ​heartfelt cry of many
Miles Salter, 'That Spring', reflecting on the Covid-19 months thus far
Carla Grosch-Miller, 'There is a time', which resonates with recent global events
Nicola Slee, 'Prayer for the waiting time', inviting us to wait for wisdom for our lives
Jan Richardson,'Blessing in the Chaos', which invites us to​ let go
Carrie Etter, 'How to handle a pandemic', and a link to the poem it's written 'after'
Jan Berry, 'Behind Locked Doors: Peace be with you', inspired by Jesus & disciples in upper room
Paul Booth, 'Creative distancing', challenging the language of 'social distancing'
Malcolm Guite, 'Easter 2020' about this year's strange Easter Day
Christine Crabtree, 'If you fall down', encouraging us to rest during Covid-19
Laura Sutcliffe, 'In this moment', about animals reclaiming the space we've left
Rebecca Elson's 'Antidotes to Fear of Death', referencing Hopkins' 'God's Grandeur'
Gerrard Manley Hopkins, 'God's Grandeur', reflecting the last line of Elson's poem
Lyn Ungar,  'Pandemic', about our heartfelt response to the Covid-19 pandemic
Laura Fannuci, 'When this is over', a poem about Covid-19's impact
A light-hearted poem,  'Tae a Virus' (apologies to Robbie Burns),  by a virologist
Richard Herrick, 'Lockdown', about this latest phase in the Covid-19 situation
Wendell Berry,​'The Peace of Wild Things', the poem that prompted the weekly email in Covid

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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • SILENCE
    • Who is SoS for?
    • What is Seeds of Silence?
    • What does SoS offer?
    • What else does SoS offer?
    • WHO is the SoS team?
    • COMMENTS about SoS
  • EVENTS
    • On line meditation groups
    • Residential Retreats
    • In person events
    • Virtual retreats
    • Virtual events
  • Silence Quotes
    • This week's quote
    • A month with ...
    • The Quoting Silence Collection
    • An Advent of Silence 2021
  • RESOURCES
    • Organisations
    • Podcasts and recordings
    • Covid Resources
    • Poems & prayers for silence & meditation
    • Virtual, self-guided retreats
    • Virtual courses: self-guided or streamed
    • Books and DVD suggestions
    • New books about silence, meditation & contemplative living
    • Documents to download
    • 50+ Poems for hard times
  • Spiritual Accompaniment
  • WORKSHOPS & Retreats
  • CONTACT
    • Funding & Giving
    • Regular Donations
    • One-off donations
  • WRITINGS & Interviews
  • BLOGS about silence