Friday, January 16, 2009

POETRY FRIDAY: The Peace of Wild Things


I often worry what our country…our world will be like in the coming years. I worry about global warming, the environment, our economy, war, terrorism, famine and disease. I worry for my daughter and her generation—and for future generations. What helps to keep me sane is laughter, which I find to be a great catharsis. That’s why I love watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.


In the following poem, Wendell Berry provides us with another suggestion for helping to forget—at least for a time—things that trouble our thoughts.

From The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry



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.


You can read the rest of the poem here at American Life in Poetry.


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At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original fairy tale poem entitled A Charming Prince Has Second Thoughts.


Karen Edmisten has the Poetry Friday Roundup today.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just added his book Timbered Choir to my wishlist earlier this week after reading another of his poems in The Writer's Alamanac.

Thank you for posting this!

Elaine Magliaro said...

Kelly,

Thanks for the title. I'm always looking for new poetry books to add to my collection.

tanita✿davis said...

Ah, I love this poem. It somehow takes me to where the poet was, no matter where I am, and I sort of unkink mentally.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Tadmack,

Listening to the sound of the ocean breaking on the shore or of a bubbling mountain brook does the same thing for me.

Mary Lee said...

Ahh....thank you. Good reminder.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Mary Lee,

I find I can lose myself in poetry at difficult times, too.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

"And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light."

These lines are so comforting to me. It seems the stars are in much demand this poetry friday, with so many posts in reference to them! I am taking that as a message for me to look up.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Cloudscome?

Does this mean that we'll be seeing some photographs of the stars/sky at A Wrung Sponge?

Karen Edmisten said...

I love this poem.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Karen,

I do too. It's the kind of poem I can read over and over again.

laurasalas said...

Thank you, Elaine. I needed this poem this morning.

Elaine Magliaro said...

Laura,

I find reading poetry helps me at certain times in my life. hope all is well.