A Timbered Choir (Wendell Berry)
From the book by Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, quoting Wendell Berry.
Barbara Brown Taylor's introduction:
He calls them "The Sabbath Poems," which is a good thing to call them since they are as full of reverence as any worship service. Mostly he just pays attention to the things he sees: trees, fields, warblers, light. As he does, they become doors to other things: grief, love, amazement, blessing.
Reading him, you come gradually to understand that the key to blessing things is knowing that they beat you to it. The key to blessing things is to receive their blessing. You do not always have to use the magic words, either. Sometimes it is enough to see the world through a tree's eyes.
Wendell Berry:
What do the tall trees say
To the late havocs in the sky?
They sigh.
The air moves, and they sway.
When the breeze on the hill
Is still, then they stand still.
They wait.
They have no fear. Their fate
Is faith. Birdsong
Is all they've wanted, all along.
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This poem from the Wendell Berry collection, The Sabbath Poems, from the book A Timbered Choir.