Tag: poem

every step I take

June 1, 2025

Good morning

Wendell Berry is an American poet from Kentucky. He is a novelist, essayist, teacher, cultural critic , farmer and ,of course, poet. I have read his poems and essays over the years. His style is precise and thoughtful. He might be seen as a nature poet. As a farmer and a lover of the land, he has over 100 acres, he writes a lot about living on this same piece of land for decades. Here is my prayer for the day, and then I will share one of Berry’s poems to end the blog.

Prayers to God 

 God,     

You know my every step.   

  are they recorded somewhere     

in the heavens?     

 or here on the earth,       

 in the CLOUD. 

As I walk in the morning,   

   I try to think of every step,     

but,     

 as you know mind fills up   

   with politics, faith and weather and war     

 but,        I try to quiet my voice     

 so your thoughts can become my thoughts     

 and your voice might become my voice.   

 that is my hope for today,

     unrealistic 

     but my hope,

     for the steps I take,

     towards heaven. AMEN

From Wendell Berry Another Day: Sabbath Poems 2013-2023

2013     I

  This is the poet of the river lands,

  a lowdown man of the deepest

  depth of the valley, where gravity gathers

  the waters, the poisons, the trash

 where light comes late and leaves early.

from the window of his small room

the lowdown poet looks out. He watches 

the river for ripples, flashes, signs 

of beings rising in the undersurface dark,

or lightly swimming  upon the flow,…           Page 3

Salaam and strength for this day, your day with the Lord of the Starfields and Ancient of Days. AMEN

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ? MPL 2025

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

Full of Beans and Seeds

Good afternoon,

Self-Portrait by Mary Oliver

I wish I was twenty and in love with life
and still full of beans.

Onward, old legs!
There are the long, pale dunes; on the other side
the roses are blooming and finding their labor
no adversity to the spirit.

Upward, old legs! There are the roses, and there is the sea
shining like a song, like a body
I want to touch

though I’m not twenty
and won’t be again but ah! seventy. And still
in love with life. And still
full of beans.

I seem to retreat to Mary Oliver often. Besides history books, I only took one poetry book of Mary Oliver, Felicity, to Europe and Jordan. She seems to have the words I need at this stage of life, and for the last five years too. The Psalmist is that kind of writer for me too. Poets always paint pictures out of their lives and experiences. They speak into the heart of the soul, and the soul of the heart. 

Painters, poets and preachers ( at least I think so ), are always trying to discover themselves with a good self-portrait. Can I ever get it perfect ? Who am I ?

                in front of God,

               in front of the Bible,

               in front of my family,

               in front of my friends,

               in front of myself ?

Vincent Van Gogh painted a lot of self-portraits, and he is often different. Did he see the subtle changes in his face, his hair and his life ? I know I have changed since I was 20 years old, in my whole belief system, my body and my mind. I would not want to be 20 again . How are you still changing ? And are you still full of beans ?

GAZA

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?