Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Wendell Berry: "How to be a poet (to remind myself)"

Stillness speaking.

***
How To Be a Poet

by Wendell Berry

(to remind myself)

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 work,
doubt their judgment.

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.

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.


from Given, 2005




1 comment:

Doug P. Baker said...

Wow! I've read many Wendell Berry poems, but that one I haven't read before. It is instantly my favorite Berry! "There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places."

Awesome to think about!