November 14, 2009

Being Still - Margaret Hasse


BEING STILL

She's a quiet clapper in the bell of the prairie,
a girl who likes to be alone.
Today, she's hiked four miles down
ravine's low cool blueness.
Bending under a barbed wire, she's in grass fields.
She's at the edge of the great plains.
Wise to openness, she finds it a familiar place.
Her clothes swell like wheat bread.

When she returns to her parents' house,
the foxtails and burrs have come home, too.
The plants seem intent on living in the new ground.
She's the carrier. "Carrier" is a precision
learned in summer's biology class.
She likes to think of ripening seeds,
a cargo inside the bellies of flying birds.
Birds like red-winged blackbirds who skim the air
and land, alert on their cattail stalks.

They allow her a silent manner.
They go about their red-winged business
of crying to each other, dipping their beaks
into the swampy stand of green.
The stiller she is, the more everything moves
in the immense vocabulary of being.

7 comments:

Lynne's Somewhat Invented Life said...

This is beautiful. I felt I was there. Thank you.

cinnibonbon said...

Lovely words!

Hey-- ok best as I can "sleuth". Marcella L. is a friend of yours--I received a wonderful necklace in the mail from the art exchanged!! Please thank her for me. I posted a small comment to her blog, but I noticed she hadn't posted in sometime. I just wanted to make sure she knows I appreciate the wonderful gift!! Thanks for playing along!!!! Have a great weekend.

Dorthe said...

Oh Julie, a beautifull story, as a poem written, and full of natures mysteri.
Wishing you a wonderfull sunday dear.
Hugs, Dorthe

Riki Schumacher said...

Wow Julie, what a talent for writing you have. This is a dear and heartfelt poem, I love it.

*jean* said...

what a lovely expression of being out in nature...that's how i feel when i'm in our meadow....captured by bird song...

Marcella Lally said...

julie,'

I like the stillness and wish that I was there instead of looking at my glowing computer screen and smelling the glue dry on one of my creations.

Ok what is " sleuth " ???

Tell Cinnibonbon I got here message.

TTFN Pal

Leslie @ Bei Mondi said...

Thanks so much for sharing, Julie. What a beautiful poem. Hope things are going good your way. :)