The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry

The words to this poem by Wendell Berry really resonate with me. Who of us has never experienced fear, sorrow, deep concern and worry for others, for the world, or for our own well being? We each find our own peace and comfort, we carve out our private sanctuaries where we refill ourselves in order to face the world anew.

This wonderful poem has been put to music by composer Joan Szymko, and will be performed by my chorus, Allegra Women's Ensemble, several times this coming season.


Come into the peace . . .