"All My Stirring Becomes Quiet"

I go among trees and sit still.

All my stirring becomes quiet

around me like circles on water.

My tasks lie in their places

where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes

and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.


Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.

Wendell Berry [1934 - ] was born in Kentucky following 5 generations of Berrys who raised tobacco. In 1987 after an extensive education [his classmates were Larry McMurtry, Edward Abbey and Ken Kesey at one point] and writing career, he returned to the English Department at the University of Kentucky to teach and write. He is a prolific writer of novels, short stories, poetry and essays. He has won numerous literary awards and prizes, and continues to write to this day.

First two photos courtesy of Google Images

Last photo courtesy of Webshots