Poem 1 for The Season of Creation*

AVOIDING NEWS BY THE RIVER

As the stars hide in the light before daybreak
Reed warblers hunt along the narrow stream
Trout rise to their shadows
Milky light flows through the branches
Fills with blood
Men will be waking

In an hour it will be summer
I dreamed that the heavens were eating the earth
Waking it is not so
Not the heavens
I am not ashamed of the wren’s murders
Nor the badger’s dinners
On which all worldly good depends
If I were not human I would not be ashamed of anything

~ W.S. Merwin,
from his 1967 book The Lice
(re-released in 50th Copper Canyon Press).

* The Season of Creation, running from September 1 to October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, brother to all life forms especially the most vulnerable, is being celebrated more and more as a liturgical season by Christian communities of faith.

5 thoughts on “Poem 1 for The Season of Creation*

  1. A poet “ahead of his time!” The whole world is now ashamed of our greenhouse gas assault on Mother Earth. Thanks you for this reflection on the beauty of Creation and the importance of respect for all its gifts.

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