The Wildflower
In the center of this wildflower the names of things revolve
The Wildflower
In the center of this wildflower the names of things revolve like planets and as if pulled by tides and the gravity of deep space the names of things move into form through enormous distance. Like electrons enchanted by the atom they show their undiscovered seas as they revolve. But for this dark flower I give it the name of a hidden moon. -from River Flow: New & Selected Poems, originally published in Songs for Coming Home Whatever names we give to the miraculous elements and representations of the world, it is never the name by which they ‘know’ themselves. This tiny piece caught the eye of my Benedictine friend and poetic confidant Brother David Steindl-Rast, many years ago, when I was still feeling my way in the art form. To my puzzlement at the time, he thought it the best thing I had written so far, ‘a lightning raid on the unspeakable’ as Thomas Merton might have said. I wanted to point to other, longer, more involved works I had written, but the tidal pull of that hidden moon was more eloquent to him than any of my attempts to bring the essence of things into the lighted hours of any glaring planetary day. It was a whispered word in my ear from a dear soul friend, that had enormous influence on me, a hand on the shoulder that guided me and still guides me in friendship to this day. DW
Whatever names we give to the miraculous elements and representations of the world, it is never the name by which they ‘know’ themselves. This tiny piece caught the eye of my Benedictine friend and poetic confidant Brother David Steindl-Rast, many years ago, when I was still feeling my way in the art form. To my puzzlement at the time, he thought it the best thing I had written so far, ‘a lightning raid on the unspeakable’ as Thomas Merton might have said. I wanted to point to other, longer, more involved works I had written, but the tidal pull of that hidden moon was more eloquent to him than any of my attempts to bring the essence of things into the light of any glaring planetary day. It was a whispered word in my ear from a dear soul friend, that had enormous influence on me, a hand on the shoulder that guided me and still guides me in friendship to this day. DW
I ‘m feeling the worlds contained within worlds and the evolving nature of things. The moons hidden in plain view.