Quiet Reflection

On a perfect summer’s day in Oxford I came across this little mill, reflected in the rippling water.

A little quiet reflection today.

Alone in Oxford I wandered, along the river bank behind New College, the summer air heavy with the scent of linden trees. A little water mill framed in willow and bracken reflected in the gently rippling water and I stood transfixed; the only sounds, the water and the leaves, rustling slightly in the perfumed air. For one blissful moment I felt completely at ease, untroubled by the cares of the world.

A little bronze plaque plaque, set in a nearby wall, recalled the words of C S Lewis who, while strolling along the very same walk so many years before, longed for a perfect Summer, calling out in an uncertain and war-ravaged world for peace and ease. In that one brief moment alone by the riverside all his words seemed embodied in this one, perfect Summer’s day.

That all days could be like this but, alas, it seems that a gentle summer must remain, for most, a dream and the world must churn its troubled way through space, ever returning.

Weekly photo challenge: Reward

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