Words in the Silence

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.
Wendell Berry

This morning I sit in the garden, writing and listening to birdsong in the apricot tree. When my thoughts swirl in pointless circles, it’s often the conversation of birds that settles my mind. Today I share a poem by Wendell Berry. I love the simplicity of the directives he offers. The lines leave me feeling both challenged and reassured. Something in me says, “Yes, this is what I want,” and I’m reminded of how I’d like to move through the world.

How to Be a Poet

Wendell Berry
(to remind myself)
i   

Make a place to sit down.   
Sit down. Be quiet.   
You must depend upon   
affection, reading, knowledge,   
skill—more of each   
than you have—inspiration,   
work, growing older, patience,   
for patience joins time   
to eternity. Any readers   
who like your poems,   
doubt their judgment.   

ii   

Breathe with unconditional breath   
the unconditioned air.   
Shun electric wire.   
Communicate slowly. Live   
a three-dimensioned life;   
stay away from screens.   
Stay away from anything   
that obscures the place it is in.   
There are no unsacred places;   
there are only sacred places   
and desecrated places.   

iii   

Accept what comes from silence.   
Make the best you can of it.   
Of the little words that come   
out of the silence, like prayers   
prayed back to the one who prays,   
make a poem that does not disturb   
the silence from which it came.

Those last two lines give me pause. Can I cultivate such silence, a well deep enough from which to draw nourishing words? Perhaps this is a good intention for the almost-new year.

With appreciation,

Carri.

P.S. Listen to Wendell Berry reading this poem here.