QuakerQuaker

Primitive Christianity Revived, Again

A Poem to Share

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry

5 members like this

Comment by Patrice Wassmann on 10th mo. 13, 2013 at 12:15pm: Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.

Comment by Ray Lovegrove on 10th mo. 13, 2013 at 1:53pm: That's good. Thank you!

Comment by Carol Ann on 10th mo. 13, 2013 at 7:54pm: That is so beautiful. Thank you for putting it on here.

Comment by Timothy on 10th mo. 14, 2013 at 2:06pm: This Is Absolutely Beautiful! =)) Thank Thee For Posting It Here, Friend!! =)))

Comment by Philip Jones on 10th mo. 14, 2013 at 10:09pm: There's a lovely four-part choral setting of this poem, and of course right now I can't remember the name of the composer. My online search indicates that several composers have set it, but I've only heard one, which was exquisite. When I can find the composer, I'll post the name (and if I can find a YouTube performance, I'll link to that). Of course the poem stands by itself perfectly well.

Comment by Alexis Hale on 10th mo. 15, 2013 at 3:18am: Lovely, thanks for sharing.

Comment by Kate St. Clair on 10th mo. 16, 2013 at 6:35am: Just what I needed. Thank you friend. :)

Comment by Zaley Warkentin on 11th mo. 2, 2013 at 12:36am: Hey Philip! If you ever find it, I would love to hear it!

Comment by Philip Jones on 11th mo. 2, 2013 at 7:55am: I don't have a link for you, but I found a nice recording on YouTube, by the NJ All-State Chorus. The 4-part setting is by Joan Szymko, but this YouTube post does not credit her. So go to YouTube and search on "The Peace of Wild Things" and "NJ" and you should be able to find it. The only video component is a still photograph of autumn leaves by a lake, but the audio is pretty good. Listen to it with the text of the poem in front of you, as (at least on my tablet) the sound is not crystal clear. But I do think the music does the poem justice.

Comment

You need to be a member of QuakerQuaker to add comments!

Join QuakerQuaker

RSS

Welcome to
QuakerQuaker

Sign Up
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

Support Us

Did you know that QuakerQuaker is 100% reader supported? Our costs run to about $50/month. If you think this kind of outreach and conversation is important, please support it with a monthly subscription or one-time gift.