Day 88 of Year 2 (Actually Day 89)
I just received a new book of Wendell Berry poems and I found the poem below. There are so many gems in it. The one that stands out the most right now is "There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places." In the studio the sacred is easily accessed, the veil between worlds pulls thin. But I love this reminder that the sacred is always present and waiting for our awareness. Berry's directions to himself apply to visual artist's as well. One note though, he encourages us to doubt people who like our work. I think he just means keep pushing. No insult to my commenters intended! 😊 xoxo
How to Be a Poet
By Wendell Berry
(To remind myself)
i
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 poems,
doubt their judgment.
ii
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.
iii
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.
From Given Poems: https://amzn.to/2AZDS1I