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
Amber
1
I want to lie down in the grass under the trees in the bottom photo!
Manuela Thames
1
I love both photos, but the bottom photo is very inviting. Looking at both of them makes me feel relaxed and calm, something I desperately need.
Thank you for this vacation.
Thea
1
I have a swing out back where I sit and watch my heron out over our lake, and I think of my parents, and I remember their faces, their smiles, their voices, and I let a little bit of my grief go (but it never really leaves me)…but I try.
Stephanie
1
Whoa. I clicked on your link to comment about the green photo of trees that drew me in like the wardrobe drew Lucy and found myself instead in a place where I wanted to stay and read and remember for awhile. Oh, how small the world is sometimes! I have been through two stillbirths, have three children and my husband and I are on a journey to Orthodoxy. Thank you for your articles and books. I will be spending more time on your site.
Theresa Tate
1
Thanks, Jenny, for the poem and the reminder.
Have you read Berry’s story, “Fidelity”? If not, you’re in for a treat.
Love to all,
Theresa
Molly
1
One of my favorite, favorite poems, Jenny! It goes so well with your photos. That last one, especially. I love the slant of the one trunk – it makes for a compelling composition. Love to you!