Friday, April 22, 2011

Place by W.S. Merwin (1927-)
On the last day of the world
I would want to plant a tree
what for
not for the fruit
the tree that bears the fruit
is not the one that was planted
I want the tree that stands
in the earth for the first time

with the sun already
going down
and the water
touching its roots
in the earth full of the dead
and the clouds passing
one by one
over its leaves
(from The Rain in the Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 1988)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Nature by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
As a fond mother, when the day is o'er,
Leads by the hand her little child to bed,
Half willing, half reluctant to be led,
And leave his broken playthings on the floor,
Still gazing at them through the open door,
Nor wholly reassured and comforted
By promises of others in their stead,
Which, though more splendid, may not please him more;
So Nature deals with us, and takes away
Our playthings one by one, and by the hand
Leads us to rest so gently, that we go
Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay,
Being too full of sleep to understand
How far the unknown transcends the what we know.

Monday, April 11, 2011

"Many in this world run after felicity
like an absent man hunting for his hat,
while all the time it is on his head or
in his hand."

Sydney Smith