As I sat down in worship last First Day, I felt tired. Had lots of weight on my shoulders. I realized, or God halped me to see, that I was, once again, struggling with control issues. So I started listing all the things I DON'T control. Endless list. Then I opened my Wendell Berry poetry book randomly, as I've been doing for the past month. After I read the poem below, I felt clear and light. I almost laughed out loud in Meeting for Worship. I caught myself, but as I thought about it later, it didn't seem like God would mind. In fact God would love it if I laughed.
So, the poem:
The Clear Days
The dogs of inecision
Cross and cross the field of vision.
A cloud, a buzzing fly
distract the lover's eye.
Until the heart has found
its native piece of ground.
The day withholds its light,
The eye must stray unlit.
The ground's the body's bride,
Who will not be denied.
Not until all is given
Comes the thought of heaven.
When the minds's an empty room
The clear days come.
Wendell Berry
2 comments:
Hi Chuck,
Great Wendell B poem!
"When the minds's an empty room
The clear days come."
I really like this last sentence. How often do I allow my mind empty? I think the answer is not enough. Meeting for worship is a blessing in this way. Jim Greenly used to talk about finding time to worship while waiting for the elevator. I think I need to find some parallels in my daily routine.
Cheers,
John
PS. Which WB book are you caring these days?
Yes, it's hard to empty my mind, too. Meeting for worship is one place, for sure. I like the idea of finding moments during our every day lives.
The WB book is "The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry". Copyright 1998, although I bought it new, recently. I like the collection and I've never read a poetry book in this way. It's book for faith seeking. I'll carry it to Meeting as long as it "works for me".
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