Monday, July 30, 2007

Poem

I have little to say today. So I am posting the poem for our Wisdom Class meditation tomorrow.


No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
that possibility you were.
More and more you have become
those lives and deaths
that have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
containing much that was
and is no more in time, beloved
then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
standing over the grave.
Now more than ever you can be
generous toward each day
that comes, young, to disappear
forever, and yet remain
unaging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
not to give yourself away.

~ Wendell Berry ~

12 comments:

Terri said...

Oh, good poem..."there is no going back...those lives and deaths...belong to you" - really great lines. I feel that way now, especially in my middle age, a life of lives and death all wrapped up in person, all persons. It's the only way to really grow.

RevDrKate said...

I love Wendell Berry. I was listening to a speaker just this morning who called him a prophet! Yeah! Again, I say, you post the BEST food for thought! Thanks!

Di said...

Hey,

I'm butting in with some non-post-related observations. I'm seriously considering starting Oasis Ministry's 2-year spiritual direction program, and I'd love to hear about your experiences with Shalem.

Also-- If you love "Dave" and "An American President," does that mean that you share my love of The West Wing?

Gannet Girl said...

There's a lot of great poetry out there today.

Gannet Girl said...

Mrs. M -- is that Oasis Ministries in PA where Ira Groff is? I took a journaling workshop from him at Chautauqua one summer; he was wonderful.

Diane M. Roth said...

great poem! Love Wendell Barry.

Rev SS said...

great poem, indeed, thank you.

Jan said...

It is wonderful to share poems we love together!

June Butler said...

I love Wendell Berry.

I have a question about quoting whole poems which are still under copyright. I have wanted to quote Berry many times, but I hesitate, because of the copyright restrictions and "fair use" which does not permit copying entire poems - as far as I know. Of course, I could be wrong, because I see it done all the time.

He has a two-liner poem on old age that I would love to give a permanent place on my blog, but I gather that Berry does not use the internet at all, so how would I get permission? Write to his publisher?

Can anyone shed light on this?

Jan said...

Grandmere Mimi, I'm afraid that I haven't even thought of copyright laws. Should I be worried?

June Butler said...

Jan. I'm no lawyer, so I don't like to give advice on the law. My blog is small, so I think that the chance of discovery is small. Mainly, I want to do the right thing.

With someone like John Donne or Shakespeare, it's no problem. but the other day when I used Jenny Joseph's poem, "Warning", about the red hat, I did not use the whole poem, hoping that I was following the "fair use" policy.

I did not mean to frighten you, Jan. I was looking for help for myself. I've done what you've done already myself.

Missy said...

Love this.

I don't really know about copywrite laws--with books I was told you can excerpt up to two pages without permission. I'm not sure about poetry...