Wendell Berry
It took me quite a while to acquire the taste for this poet. However once I did, nothing I looked at seemed the same. There is power in his words that transcends my ability to describe, but I have come to love his work. The following poem is from The Country of Marriage.
The Cruel Plumage (A Theme of Edwin Muir) Wendell BerryAll our days are arrows; now at the turn
of life, half-fledged and knowledgeable, I face
the coming of the rest, their grief and pain
made accurate by their joy. So I will learn
the world. full-feathered, I must fly to an unknown
place.
And one more, from the collection Openings
The Want of Peace Wendell BerryAll goes back to the earth,
and so I do not desire
pride of excess or power,
but the contentments made
by men who have had little:
the fisherman's silence
recieving the river's grace,
the gardener's musing on rows.I lack the peace of simple things.
I am never wholly in place.
I find no peace or grace.
We sell the world to buy fire,
our way lighted by burning men,
and that has bent my mind
and made me think of darkness
and wish for the dumb life of roots.
I can't say enough about this latter poem. I suppose a poet speaks to where you are and where you have been. Mr. Berry is a poet for me for now, speaking volumes of truth in few words--few, but beautiful.
