You set out to find the lough,
but were thwarted by wrong turns
and feet sinking further into the boggy grass
Staying by the river instead, brought its own rewards of timeless ease, stone hopping joy and alertful wary sheep
But the call of the heart was strong and would not be denied
A second visit with better boots released you up the mountain and new encounters
You must have had a lighthearted smile on your face,
to elicit the friendly voice from another restful soul
easing his way up the mountain
But that is how you always travel
Soon, the heart shaped Lough appeared before you, in the shadow of its guard.
The mountain and the lake, like lovers hand-in-hand,
inseparable from each other.
Wondering how to capture this impressive sight was all you could do.
But the moment was not yet right.
Not until a reflective pause with the warm sun on your face, recharging you for the final climb.
The climb you hadn’t really planned.
The climb that scared you with precipitous drops.
The climb you knew would bring its own rewards.
You had not noticed the stony outcrop, to where a fellow walker would not go.
But somehow you were swept along to the ledge,
where you summoned all your resources to stand your ground.
And the picture came to you at last.
A heart shaped corrie lake nestling below Tonelagee in the heart of the Wicklow mountains
As if by providence the river and the bog, the mountain and the lake, the hiker and the outcrop, all conspired to bring you home the long way.
A reverential meeting in nature’s true embrace.
A World of Wanders 