Several years ago, Sister Joan Teresa Groth and I had a conversation about journals; she shared an insight that remained with me. She said that there is no point in keeping journals if we don’t periodically re-read them.
The word retrospective means “looking back.” In writing the poem, I looked back, re-read a journal entry from April 2023. I allowed it to bring me to what I had seen and heard during my retreat; I recalled some of the graced moments of those days. “A Retrospective ~ April 27, 2023” captures the essence of what I had originally written in the journal entry, the fruit of prayerfully revisiting that experience.
The title of this poem offers a suggestion for reflection. Consider “looking back” — re-read your retreat notes or a journal entry; sit with a photograph you may have taken or a sketch you may have drawn. Take another look, simply “be” with it for a while, allow the Spirit to lead you. Notice where it takes you and what emotions it evokes. You may wish to share with someone about the experience.
A Retrospective ~ April 27, 2023
Grateful for time
time to simply “be”
no schedule
no responsibilities
Time to be present to the beauty
allow the ebb and flow of tides
wash over me
without fear or forced movement
Time to listen to my body
able to rest with abandon
walk with no destination in mind
pause ~ drink in the beauty
Time to sit motionless on a “dedicated” bench
yet soar with birds in flight
notice fiddlehead ferns amid
moss coverlets over exposed roots
Could not confine my gratitude
to time-specific moments
simply awash in the awareness
of our Creator’s loving-kindness
Laura Bufano, CSJ
May 1, 2026