Crafting a life these days seems to require many of the same attributes it takes to be a poet. Each day you wake up, sit down before a blank page and listen for a whisper, a starting impulse, a wondering – what is it that needs my attention in this moment, in this day. Giving yourself over to “….the little words that come out of silence, like prayers prayed back to the one who prays….”
We came across this triplet by Wendell Berry, words which seem so apt to the spirit and practice of living in the world at this moment in time. And along with the impulse to share these words of wisdom, we also felt compelled to invite our global community to create a collective poem – words, sentences or short phrases sent by individuals sharing your own experience right now.
Capturing these essences, we will weave them together into a poem to share for the September day of silence. If you are compelled, feel free to send a few words, one-liners or reflections to: jennifer@ashlandvirtualassistant.com
If you are not compelled, don’t force it, simply enjoy these reflections as a wise and thoughtful meditation. Either way, we are together.
With blessing,
Peri & Barbara
How to Be a Poet BY WENDELL BERRY
(to remind myself) i. 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 poems, doubt their judgment.
ii. 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.
iii.
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.