Nov 21, 2008

Poetry and God are right there but we don't stop to listen

by Anonymous

Joshua Bell Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying poetry and God are the same thing. But there is something that feels very prophetic about poetry. Poets aren't prophets, but the best poetry is a kind of prophecy. It helps us see things we didn't see before.

It helps us slow down.

And when we slow down, often we find God waiting for us.

Steve Norris sparked these thoughts when posted this poem and a link to this video of Joshua Bell. That's Joshua in the picture by the way. He's an incredibly talented musician. (It's an older post from Steve, that I found through our Lijit network search. Cool tool, that.)

So this week, it's not about us and the poetry we write. Read the poem. Watch the video. Look for God around you. He's right there, and he's doing something beautiful.

Leisure
by W. H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Some notes:
First, I have to razz Steve about putting the highcallingblogs.com logo just underneath a link for "Best Buy Coupons." We love you, Steve. And we love good coupons, too. That just cracked me up.

Second, Steve linked to a great article from The Washington Post . I have a warm spot in my heart for The Washington Post because of what they are doing with blogs through On Faith . In fact, I think I met Jon Meacham in San Antonio at a conference. If I'm remembering correctly, he was a nice guy--and that goes a long way with me.

Finally, the poem is available through a copyleft license from Wikisource . I love that site.