"The Peace of Wild Things"


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 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





Comments

  1. ClaireApril 29, 2012 at 1:16 PM

    What a beautiful picture . . . and thanks for the birthday wishes, Jenna. It was a quiet, blessed day with a few friends and some family. And a sense of taking steps toward my "next particular vocation." I think I'll find some time this week to sit with Him in a similar place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ElenaApril 30, 2012 at 6:50 PM

    Beautiful poem and photo, Jenna. When I awake at night like that I take great solace in thinking of the spring peepers, the crickets and the various wildlife outside my window that bring a certain peace just by their presence. Dave told me the other day that growing up on a farm and sleeping in the 'dead' of the country probably set him up for a far more peaceful interior life in comparison to mine that was conditioned by the 24-hour wakefulness of the city. I tend to agree.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 10, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    Beautiful post.

    Elena, isn't that interesting!

    ReplyDelete

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