Just when you seem to yourself
nothing but a flimsy web
of questions, you are given
the questions of others to hold
in the emptiness of your hands,
songbird eggs that can still hatch
if you keep them warm,
butterflies opening and closing themselves
in your cupped palms, trusting you not to injure
their scintillant fur, their dust.
You are given the questions of others
as if they were answers
to all you ask. Yes, perhaps
this gift is your answer.
"A Gift" by Denise Levertov, from Sands of the Well. © New Directions, 1998.Art credit: Untitled photograph, likely by monikagal, taken on March 7, 2012.
As John Lennon says,"We've got this gift of love,but love is like a precious plant.You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself.You've got to keep watering it.You've got to really look after it and nurture it.@Teresa Cooper.
ReplyDeleteA lovely poem. I am just introducing myself to Levertov's poetry on a grey afternoon in Memphis. Thank you.
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