Poets help us fly

Jane_fromthefourwinds Do Not Be Ashamed

You will be walking some night
in the comfortable dark of your yard
and suddenly a great light will shine
round about you, and behind you
will be a wall you never saw before.
It will be clear to you suddenly
that you were about to escape,
and that you are guilty: you misread
the complex instructions, you are not
a member, you lost your card
or never had one. And you will know
that they have been there all along,
their eyes on your letters and books,
their hands in your pockets,
their ears wired to your bed.
Though you have done nothing shameful,
they will want you to be ashamed.
They will want you to kneel and weep
and say you should have been like them.
And once you say you are ashamed,
reading the page they hold out to you,
then such light as you have made
in your history will leave you.
They will no longer need to pursue you.
You will pursue them, begging forgiveness.
They will not forgive you.
There is no power against them.
It is only candor that is aloof from them,
only an inward clarity, unashamed,
that they cannot reach. Be ready.
When their light has picked you out
and their questions are asked, say to them:
"I am not ashamed." A sure horizon
will come around you. The heron will begin
his evening flight from the hilltop.

-Wendell Berry

Go, fly.

Sent to me a long time ago by one of the smartest, most beautiful women I know. My thanks, Lori.

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

3 comments to " Poets help us fly "
  • Wendell Berry, love him, so simple and so brilliant…. I bet you have read Jayber Crow. If not, you really must, since your father was a barber, I think you would love this book.

  • Valerie

    Dear Patti,
    What a beautiful poem about unwavering inward clarity, which is something that can be tough sometimes. It is not only difficult to find it in the first place, but once found, to trust it unconditionally…

    I would like to share with you another poem by Macrina Wiederkehr, because don’t you think that some poets and writers are wells? I read this today and it reminded me of you!

    “What makes this world so lovely
    is that somewhere it hides a well.
    Something lovely there is about a well
    so deep
    unpiped and real
    filled with buckets and buckets
    of that life-giving drink.
    A faucet will do in a hurry,
    but what makes the world so lovely
    is that somewhere
    it hides a well!

    Sometimes
    people are like wells
    deep and real
    natural (unpiped)
    life-giving
    calm and cool
    refreshing.

    They bring out what is best in you
    They are like fountains of pure joy
    They make you want to sing, or maybe dance
    They encourage you to laugh
    even, when things get rough.
    And maybe that’s why
    things never stay rough
    once you’ve found a well.

    Some experiences are like wells too.
    People create them
    They are life-giving happenings
    They are redeeming experiences
    They are wells,
    wells of wonder
    wells of hope.
    When you find a well
    and you will some day,
    Drink deeply of the gift within.
    And then maybe soon
    you’ll discover
    that you’ve become
    what you’ve received,
    and then you’ll be a well
    for others to find.

    So lift up your eyes
    and look all around you:
    Over the mountains, down in the valley
    out in the ocean, over the runways
    into the cities, into the country
    sidewalks and highways
    paths in the forest
    into the hearts of a thirsty people.

    Look!
    And I beg you
    don’t ever stop looking
    because what makes this world so lovely
    is that somewhere
    it hides a well,
    a well that hasn’t been found yet.

    And if you don’t find it
    maybe
    nobody will!

    And if you don’t be one
    maybe
    nobody will find you!”

    -Poem by Macrina Wiederkehr from her book: Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections (1991).

  • Thank YOU dear Life poet Patti!

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