Photograph by Jef Poskanzer
I’m away now for a few days, presenting the first of this year’s Enneagram courses. I’ll be back on Sunday, and leave you with this poem I found today.
When despair grows in me
And I wake in the middle of 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 for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
One of my favorite Berry poems. Sooo good. Thanks.
hey..hudson took my words
great photo, too!
you & christine both teaching this weekend. i will miss you and you will be in my thoughts & prayers!!
So beautiful. Perfect pairing with the tranquil image. Thank you.
“who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief” – this line is so important. We waste so much human time worrying about things that never happen. I practice at “unlearning” that habit:)
SS
Wow. Some poems, they’re like a meal, aren’t they? This photo too was just beautiful.
Off teaching about the enneagram, huh? That’s interesting. I’d like to find out more about it. I’m going to go read your link
Tess, I’d love to come to Turvey Abbey for an enneagram course. That sounds so good!!!
If ever I’m in the UK …