As the war in Ukraine grinds on,
locked in the melancholy of its bitter blood-soaked conflict,
where the shock of each new pulverising strike
fuels the bitterness and fans the hatred,
like icebergs clashing and crashing against each other,
let some manifestation of Your tenderness
steal over bruised and damaged hearts,
and seal both inner and outer wounds,
Utter knowing, utter caring,
that knows exactly how things are;
and which holds and guards us through the brutal storm and shaking assaults
that are decimating the land and extending spiralling threats far beyond the fields of battle to menace the entire western lands,
O God send some green olive leaves
to betoken some hope beyond the horizon
as a sign of better things to come.
Unblock stunted senses
and grant grace to rise above brusque and sullen attitudes
to glimpse Your warm embracing tenderness,
that brings consolation beyond compare,
unconditional support
and the deep inner empowering of knowing that You are there.
For it will be the seemingly slender fruit of tenderness
Rather than the saying of mortal foes that best warm people’s hearts
and which bids souls ‘Well-come’ to the Father’s own dwelling place.
Words and music by Robert Weston
Jo Garcia - cello
Christiane Von Albrecht - piano