Wendell Berry

is incredible.

This is a poem by Wendell Berry. It is a favorite poem of one of my friends and has become one of mine too! Read it out loud, and slowly, on the beach (or other nature setting), for the best effect ;) The world needs more WB.

"How to Be a Poet"

(to remind myself)

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 work,
doubt their judgment.

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.

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.


- Wendell Berry, Given.

i tremble as i stand on the edges of you.

i have been the wind, since i was a child,

but you - you are a tree.

and your words are like the leaves of autumn

ripe with the wisdom of age,

Flames of beauty

as they fall so easily

from your lips.

having been nourished by that deep

place in you where the God of fire dwells.

i pick them up with my hands.

all around me they begin to sway, float, dance.

O i am humbled by the beauty

of these brothers and sisters,

who combine all that life is, with a smile,

in a kind of comic, majestic, tragic mystery.

church history

I am walking in these old tracks

leading to some Wild Haven

pressed into ancient hills where

the wind's breath bears

the voices of saints.

They lead me to places most humbly ordinary
where long grasses, sour plums,
and thistles abide.

But once in awhile, they steal me off

to a star strewn height

where I'm blinded by pure
goodness, beauty, or love:
where I touch
the edge of an angel's wing,
fiery white.

Exploring the Artists

"As I understand the gift of the spirit in art, so I understand prayer...
At their best, both become completely unselfconscious activities; the self-conscious, fragmented person is totally thrown away and integrated in work, and for moments of such work, be it prayer or writing, I know wholeness, and sunside and nightside are no longer divided."


Lately I've been more fascinated by other writers than attempting to write for myself. Fortunately, this is a good thing because as I immerse myself into their hearts and minds and words, I resurface with new creative inspiration! So anyway, I am thinking of posting other voices in addition to my own for awhile. Maybe, if you check this, you were hoping I'd say that a long time ago! ;)

To begin, the quote above is by Madeleine L'Engle, from The Irrational Season, p. 122. I believe prayer, work, art, and love are all things that draw us out of our "fragmented" selves into something greater, a greater prayer, a greater art, a greater work, a greater Love... but what the source or inspiration of these things is, is key. We can have many motivations to do the things above that may be escapist. But when God is our motivation and our inspiration, they become good, beautiful, and blessed. And we, unhindered, discover joy, freedom, and fruitfulness.