Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
Become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given outTake only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.
Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress
Unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.
Discover the reason why
So tiny human giant
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But live frugally
on surprise.
"Expect Nothing" by Alice Walker, from Anything We Love Can Be Saved. © Ballantine Books, 1998.Photography credit: Untitled image by unknown photographer (originally sepia).
So much truth and wisdom. These words touched my heart and soul today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhen was the poem first published?
ReplyDeleteI found it in a book published in 1998 (see source beneath poem). I don't know if it was previously published.
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