Sue Devereux
8 November 2011
Author, poet and spiritual director Joy Cowley is the new patron for Seasons for Growth in New Zealand. All those involved in this ministry are delighted to have her backing and support. Joy will be a huge asset to all who work in the programme with her love and understanding of children, combined with her knowledge and experience of the spiritual journey through change, grief, and loss.
Her writings are already being used in the Seasons for Growth programme. Joy wrote this poem to supplement the programme for 13-15-year-olds:
Winter
on the landscape of my heart.
There is nothing to see but darkness,
nothing to feel but a cold
that goes deeper than my bones.
I am like a bare tree standing alone
among the dead leaves of memory.
Storms of grief and anger beat against me
and there is no shelter.
Why did this happen?
I did not ask for winter.
It came suddenly, beyond my control,
stripping away my comfort
And leaving me desolate and helpless.
It hurts to think.
It hurts to be.
I know that I can’t turn back the seasons.
Never again, will I enjoy last summer,
but in the deep cold of frozen sap,
there is a message of a spring to come
and already, where old leaves fell,
There are the beginnings of new buds.
All I can do today is lie still and wait,
knowing that when the greenness and light
come again, I will be bigger and stronger
than I was last year.
Seasons for Growth offers peer support programmes for those experiencing major change or loss. There are many levels of programmes to suit from six-year-olds to adults, including Stormbirds for those who have been through a natural disaster and a whole class programme teaching emotional literacy.
For more information, please contact Esther Saldanha e.saldanha@wn.catholic.org.nz or 04 496-5182.