Tag Archives: poetry

epiphany 2026

When the smallness of my vision Dampens all hope inside, I simply watch And these clumsy feet keep moving. When what could have been Turns bitter and dusty from wear I feel the tiniest move as a miracle. When the bit is cold in my mouth and When daylight reveals only a potholed Road, justContinue reading “epiphany 2026”

an elemental year: Sashiko

This piece was originally written as a ‘monk in the world’ piece for Abbey of the Arts here. I am currently spending a year exploring the elements in the company of the Kinship Photography Collective.  My practice group (a special mix of people who are able to meet on zoom during the day in the U.S. andContinue reading “an elemental year: Sashiko”

I am limited

Last week it was my great honour to have another ‘monk in the world’ post published on the Abbey of the Arts Blog. Here is that post: A few months ago I wrote these words in response to a series of photographs (some of which are pictured here) I made in collaboration with the KinshipContinue reading “I am limited”

Sunday 4: for waiting

 Do this work until you feel the delight of it. In the trying is the desire. The first time you practice contemplation, you’ll only experience a darkness, like a cloud of unknowing. You won’t know what this is. You’ll only know that in your will you feel a simple reaching out to God. You mustContinue reading “Sunday 4: for waiting”

heart of stone

Once again it is my honour to contribute a reflection to the ‘monk in the world’ blog of the Abbey of the Arts. This piece was first published on May 15, 2024 (although it was written in May 2023). all words and images by Kate Kennington Steer  I arrived at February 2023 in a post-viralContinue reading “heart of stone”

well or w/hole (part iv)

I meant to write this in September 2023, but it is now February 2024.  I am recovering from a reanimation of the chest infection I caught before Christmas, but it has wiped out this month.  I am attempting not to fight the bouts of vertigo and dizziness which sideswipe me, even as I sit perfectlyContinue reading “well or w/hole (part iv)”

well or w/hole? (part ii)

We dance round in a ring and suppose, But the Secret sits in the middle and knows. ‘The Secret Sits’ Robert Frost For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the idea of essence: that there is a core, a kernel, a seed, a heart, a soul, which functions as aContinue reading “well or w/hole? (part ii)”

well or w/hole? (part i)

When will I be well? When was I ever well? In the beginning I had wellbeing,  I was a being of wellness  because I lived in a beingwell, a cocoon, a shelter, a haven;  those childhood homes,  where my parents held me in safety, safely, surrounded, enclosed, beloved, so I could be well, learn well Continue reading “well or w/hole? (part i)”

Christmas Eve 2020

Here, where the rivers dredge upthe very stone of Heaven, we name its colors—muttonfat jade, kingfisher jade, jade of appleskin green. And here, in the glitteringhues of the Flemish Masters, we sample their wine;rest in their windows’ sun warmth,cross with pleasure their scrubbed tile floors.Everywhere the details leap like fish— bright shardsof water out ofContinue reading “Christmas Eve 2020”