on the peace of wild things
what sights behold you and make you come alive as you walk through your life? a photo essay with poems by Wendell Berry and Jane Hirshfield
Hello everyone,
Welcome to all the new readers in my little space. This was supposed to be a video essay, but I hit a roadblock with the audio edits. I hope you enjoy this photo essay for this week.
I looked out of my favourite window,
that I often stop by,
I address it lovingly,
as my window of change,
I have seen it transform from green to yellow to icy white,
much alike the transfiguration of life.
The call of the wild,
allures me to step out into the frozen delight,
an invitation to look from outside,
find answers to the infinite turmoils,
dive into these tiny portals of space and time,
and hold the self under the light of loving grace.
I walk towards the empty bench facing the woods,
christened as “IK’s” thinking corner,
one of my favourite spots in the neighbourhood,
a loyal companion in my solitude,
my eyes light up at this glorious view,
a painting of tranquillity,
amid the dynamite of memories,
ignited deep within the inner recesses.
I walk a bit further,
in awe of my dear Goliath’s towering presence,
comforting me on the nail-biting cold morning,
our commune in silence,
a story of two distinct lives,
woven together by the magic of our ancestors.
I walk these paths,
every passing day,
as it unveils sights anew,
the spells of the elderly,
the invisible force at play,
the lost self resurrects each time I pass by these woods.
I walk a little further,
and shout in glee,
my friendly neighbour is back in the woods,
after a three-week Christmas break,
perched upon the branch,
looking sharp,
all ready to hunt for its prey.
I strike up a conversation with a known stranger,
we talk about the kingfisher,
his recent cosmic capture of the solar spots,
the walkers pass by,
looking amused as we invite them,
to partake in this sacred savouring,
of this wondrous sight.
In these moments of transiting self,
blessed by the litany of emotions,
I find myself breathing again,
pulling myself out from the swamp of fear, doubts and grief,
an inner emergence,
of tenderness, intimacy, joy
of imagination and possibilities.
I offer myself unto,
this altar of ancient wisdom,
ready to be baptised by the trinity,
of stillness, love and grace.
The ordinary sights of everyday life, coupled with the loving eye, can act as the antidote to despair. I wish you, my dear reader, to experience this invoking of senses each day. As Mary Oliver said, joy is not to be made a crumb; it is all about trying to live our best in these borrowed moments of our earthly existence.
These incantations embraced me as I walked around the woods in the spirit of today’s sights and sounds. I hope you enjoy these poems.
I asked to be lush, to be green by Jane Hirshfield I pressed myself to the clear glass between wanting and world. I wanted to be lush, tropical, excessive. To be green. On the glass that does not exist, small breath-clouds rose, dissolved. A creature of water, I found myself. Tender, still also of air. The dry bark of trees sequestered its hidden rising. I told my want: patience. I offered my want the old promise— a tree not wet to the touch is wet to the living. The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry 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.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition. Thank you to each of you who read and recommended my newsletter. I am hosting a poetry salon on 29th January. Please do join if you can. Until next time, may the peace of all tiny and grand moments embrace you as you go about your life.
How lovely, and in perfect harmony with some of my own thoughts on the impermanence of nature today.