THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry
i have heard this poem before, and it is one of my favorites, though i don't know it well...it rings so clearly and beautiful and true.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem and perfect choice of picture.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank-you for this today.
ReplyDeleteThis is why this blog thing works.
ReplyDeleteThese words comforted me earlier this week.
And it doesn't surprise me to see them here.
Lovely. And true.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite poems. "Forethought of grief," is something to avoid. When I feel myself doing that, I'm going to murmur that phrase inside my head and think of this poem.
ReplyDeleteHey! The word verification is "demons." Sometimes leaving a comment is like playing with a ouija board!
Oh Elizabeth. Thank-you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful reminder to be in the present moment. Thank you.
ReplyDeletebeautiful .... a few years back I had a doctor prescribe antidepressants for me when I told him that I wake in the middle of the night thinking about my kids .... needless to say - I quit going to that doctor, didn't get the Rx filled, and have sought out silent places in my mind such as the one in the poem. "Peace. Don't leave home without it."
ReplyDeleteThat's how I feel down by the river, peaceful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, amazing photo. I LOVE this poem. Thanks for remembering it to me.
ReplyDelete