NeuroDivine

Prologue

In the deep hush of winter, Halifax lies like a cloister.
The stones hold their cold light;
the paths keep their long silence.
Nothing asks for attention.
Nothing hurries.

We come as keepers of quiet work—
the clearing of a way,
the steady placing of our steps,
the simple tending of a place
that endures through every season.

Around us, the creatures move in their own discipline:
the stag in the dusk,
the mole beneath the frozen soil,
the cat slipping through lantern‑shadow,
the fox, the hare, the jackdaw, the roe deer.
Each keeps its watch without sound.

Tonight we stand within that same stillness—
no ceremony, no call,
only breath in the cold air
and the quiet joining of our footsteps.

Let the song rise from that silence,
and return to it when it ends.

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1.
Along the lanes where winter lays
Its shimmer on the stone,
A robin sparks through holly leaves
Where lantern‑lights are shown.
The frost has brushed the heather’s edge,
A wren trills bright and clear;
And still we walk these shining paths
To honour all held here.

2.
The mills stand dark against the sky,
The moors breathe out the cold;
A fox steps lightly through the dusk
With secrets trimmed in gold.
Each footstep on the gravel rings
Like bells across the town;
And in our tending, gently placed,
We set our burdens down.

3.
Through drifting snow, through starlit wind,
We shape each plot with care;
A jackdaw wheels in glossy arcs,
A hare leaps from its lair.
No banner raised, no chorus loud,
Yet joy in what we do—
A merry bond in Halifax,
Where old and new shine through.

4.
A stag stands still beyond the pines,
Its breath a silver thread;
A mole moves softly under earth
Where quiet paths are spread.
The lanterns glow along the ways,
The frost begins to rise;
And in our keeping, peace is laid
Like snow on quiet skies.

5.
A cat slips through the shadowed stones,
Its footfall soft and sure;
It knows these winter‑woven ways
That circle round the moor.
So through the dusk we walk again,
Our hearts both brave and mild;
For every tending that we give
Is care returned and filed.

6.
The stag moves softly through the dusk,
The mole beneath the ground;
A cat slips past the lantern‑light
Where frosted stones are found.
The fox, the hare, the jackdaw’s wheel,
The roe deer near the gate—
All share these winter‑woven paths
We walk and celebrate.

7.
So let the season’s brightness fall
On every path we tread;
Where roe deer pause beyond the gate
And colours softly spread.
For in this place, our footsteps join
The ones who walked before;
And by our tending, light returns
To rest upon the moor.

Written by request for the Friends of Stoney Royd Cemetery, Halifax, for their annual winter lantern walk.

📖 Read the story behind the song: Behind the Scenes: Writing a Secular Winter Song for Stoney Royd →