I’ve been reading a bit from Wendell Berry’s New Collected Poems every night before bed.
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
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 a place 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.
Read aloud by Berry here.
12 comments
How lovely. I put this in my book too – maybe some memory work for Mama.
A lovely selection, and very timely for me, too! Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful, it makes me want to write poetry again …it's been 25 years!
Beautiful.
My comment must have gotten lost. I love the call-back to Ps 23; 'he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." Just beautiful.
Lovely! 🙂
It reminds me of Wordsworth's Daffodils and Yeats' Lake Isle of Innisfree, both of which were mama memory work over here…I think this one will be next! 🙂
Oh, how lovely. Maybe you need your own poetry notebook? 🙂
Yes, I love the quiet biblical references in his work.
That's a great idea – read a poem before bed! I want to get a collection of his poems as I've loved the few I've seen online.
I second Dawn's comment…love the reference to Psalm 23.
I have this one out from the library right now. I figure I will eventually see a few at a thrift shop, as I know he is popular–just haven't gotten lucky yet. 🙂
I really love a poem before bed. Easy to commit to, and it gives me food for (sleepy) thought. 😉