Finding Peace

"The Peace Of Wild Things"
By Wendell Berry

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.

I love this poem. What a gentle feeling it provides. When my days get hectic and I feel like I'm running in circles, I try to find a reading like this to focus on. It's a way to relax and calm myself. When there is too much to do, too many demands, and too much sadness in the world, then Mr. Berry's poetry helps me right my priorities.