Saturday, August 27, 2016

Patient questions….



Some poems have several layers of impact, tempting the reader to think deeper on the first re-read, and deeper still on the next….

I noticed this poem by David Whyte. It seemed to be ordinary enough as I skimmed through it, but it snared me in the end, it bids for lavish, lush reflection and opens a couple windows for gazing at some things we often don’t see clearly enough or think about clearly enough.

“…requests…beginning to lead everywhere…” is a tempting gambit, and “…questions that have patiently waited for you…” is a warming invitation to step into the cold shower of reality.

I think the poem has excesses of language that diminish its essence, but the evidence of the right words is all there.

Here’s an excerpt, see the entire poem in the Australia Times Poetry Magazine.

…Requests
to stop what
you are doing
right now,
and

to stop what you
are becoming
while you do it,

questions
that can make
or unmake
a life…


From “Sometimes” by David Whyte © David Whyte and Many Rivers Press








Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2016 All rights reserved.

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