A moment at the Ruhi course

A certain moment

There was a certain moment just as we had ceased to pray

A moment of pure silence that you seldom find today

The final note had sounded, a hush was in the air

My friend: That sound of silence sounded like another prayer.

The trees outside our window looked skyward from new snow

The faces in the room around shone with an inner glow

I swear the room was pregnant with new possibilities

Not just a day of Ruhi; No! A taste of sanctity

And then we’d all stand up and stretch and open our last page

And laughter would soon bubble out and every heart engage

We learned and laughed and laughed and learned and painted, learned and sung

And learned and laughed and sung and prayed – The ten of us were one

We were a jolly bunch of fools, all different - all the same

We’d come to Tambach strangers but ‘twould ne’er be so again

We were not simply ships that cross at night each other’s way

No! We were souls who met there in a God-determined way

And though like ships we’d raise our sails to make tracks through life’s waves

The Tambach bonds that tied us then will last beyond our graves

For each will take some memory of our long - but too-short stay

For me the sweetest one is of that moment every day

Lorcan - Tambach Dec 18-25 2005