How oft those silent cliffs I climbed,

as yet a child, a gentle maid.

Then at St. Declan’s Well I prayed,

I supped, I wished and onward sped.

The purple heather,

the August weather,

Oh how my heart beat full of joy.

I passed another Well en route,

“Lord, give me to drink of its fruit”-

The waters of contemplation, -

Soon I’d be praying for resignation.

 

Then I saw a distant isle

Out in the deep blue sea.

Maybe a hermit on that isle,

Just God alone and me.

The winds would blow my sails ashore,

To praise and thank him evermore.

But lo, I heard a whisper,

A gentle voice within,

“The heights of Carmel,

That’s the place I choose for thee

A new life to begin”.

 

Down below mackerel leaping,

Up above gulls ascreaming.

I stood on the cliffs that early morn,

Between heaven and earth,

Like a lamb just shorn.

Dear Lord, I lay my head to rest

Upon the altar of thy Sacred Breast.

In times of suffering and pain,

Feign there, would I e’er remain.

 

Hark, the Angelus, that holy bell.

Descend I must to the village,

that village I loved so well.

The pier, the cobh and storm wall,

the village Church and

cottage thatched.

The beach and Curragh strand.

All go hand in hand

 

I knelt before the tabernacle,

now lost in silent prayer.

The sea alone was sounding,

it throbbed with my lone heart there.

I realized the deep desire

that dwelt within my soul.

For God, for all humanity.

Dear Lord, to You

I give my all.