It is dusk. The birds sweep low to the lake and then dive
up. The wind picks a few leaves off the ground
and turns them into wheels that roll
a little way and then collapse. There’s nothing like branches
planted against the sky to remind you
of the feel of your feet on the earth, the way your hands
sometimes touch each other. All those memories,
you wouldn’t want them over again, there’s no point.
What’s next, you ask yourself.
You ask it ten thousand times.
~ Roo Borson, “Ten Thousand” from Night Walk: Selected Poems
Notes:
- Poem: Thank you readalittlepoetry. Photo: Jonathan Hankin, Digital Art 0403 MalcolmLiepke Study
- Related Posts: It’s been a long day
ah, there is always what comes next –
And thank goodness for that….
The poem makes me sad but I like it.
Felt the same way Elizabeth. Same….
What’s next, indeed.
That’s why you enjoy it while it is here then look forward to what comes your way.
Yes. Exactly Dale.
What’s next, but also what’s *now*. Took the dogs out yesterday and was drawn up short by a pair of hawks wheeling across the sky. Just stood and watched for a while, swept along by the lazy circles they traced. So much beauty and magic right under our noses every minute of every day. Must. Not. Forget.
Wow, that must have been something…and yes, every minute…
Thank goodness, David, you can now feel your feet on the earth.
Laughing. Yes Perpetua. Thanks goodness for the feet on the earth.
Human separation from the natural world has led us to myriad problems in the world today. The reconnection to the natural world can be salvation, if one can manage it.
Yes. But…
“It has been said repeatedly that one can never, try as he will, get around to the front of the universe. Man is destined to see only its far side, to realize nature only in retreat.”
– Loren Eiseley, The Star Thrower (Mariner Books; September 26, 1979)
Own and love The Star Thrower, huge fan of Eisley. But. I stand by my statement. 😉
Eisley’s books are something special.