In the garden works a woman,
in the woman grows a fear,
in the fear lives a truth,
in the truth is an ache.
After some time
of pulling weeds and
deadheading flowers
and before the rain begins,
the ache has sloughed
enough layers to make
it more easily seen.
On its own, the ache
is not so large. When
the woman meets it
between the sunflowers
and snapdragons,
the ache does not disappear,
but somehow it no longer
consumes her, it simply
is as she tugs
at taproots, removes
yellowed leaves.
The world is so much
more alive than the fear
would have her believe.
As day goes down, she
tends the soil, she speaks
to potatoes, to basil,
to kale. There is no seed
for peace, yet it grows here,
the peace of green leaves
and dark earth, the peace of
nightcrawlers, moss and bees.
She speaks to the plants
as she moves through the
rows, and knows ease.
*Inspired by Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things”
“And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.”
One of my favorite lines from his poem. The world has lost a very good man – your poem is a lovely inspiration.
seriously, one of the best lines of poetry ever! one of my favorite, too
I’ve been reading Berry since he died and this does capture some of his attentive wonder. A perfect fall poem.
attentive wonder, that is exactly it … that’s what he offered us
I love that you put the “inspired by” at the end instead of the beginning in this one. Because it was such a sweet experience to hear his voice growing, toward the end of the poem, to know it, before actually knowing it. To be surprised by it, instead of going in looking for it.
thanks, Jess … yeah, i think that’s how it happened, too, that it felt itself more aligned with him as it went … great to hear how that felt as a reader, thank you
Thank you, Rosemerry, for honoring Wendell Berry with this touching portrait. Reading your poetry helps me to be at peace with the fears and the truths and the aches that arise in the course my own day.
thank you, Mike … poems are such good medicine for me, too … and Berry was such a gift to me (and so many!) in that way