Hildegard of Bingen: A Sonnet

Tending the tree of Life by Hildegard of Bingen The 17th of September is the feast day of Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable and prophetic woman, who described herself as ‘a feather on the breath of God’, and whose many works in theology, music, visual art, poetry and drama are still inspiring people today. Indeed she is coming more and more into her own, as one of her key ideas ‘Viriditas’, or the greening and life-renewing work of the Holy Spirit, seems especially apposite for our time. See this page on her by a contemporary Benedictine. The photo below is by Margot Krebs Neale I wrote this sonnet at Launde Abbey in Leicestershire. It is published in my second volume of poetry The Singing Bowl, Canterbury Press, available on Amazon in both the US and the UK As always you can hear the sonnet by clicking on the play button or the title. http://audioboo.fm/boos/1603489-hildegarde-of-bingen.mp3 Hildegard of Bingen A feather on the breath of God at play, You saw the play of God in…