Because of poems like this (and it also occurs to me that this poem is a nice companion piece to the post below this one):
The Future
For God’s sake, be done
with this jabber of “a better world.”
What blasphemy! No “futuristic”
twit or child thereof ever
in embodied light will see
a better world than this, though they
foretell inevitably a worse.
Do something! Go cut the weeds
beside the oblivious road. Pick up
the cans and bottles, old tires,
and dead predictions. No future
can be stuffed into this presence
except by being dead. The day is
clear and bright, and overhead
the sun not yet half finished
with his daily praise.
a big F*CK YEAH! to Wendell Berry.
I (heart) the man. He has some great essays on what the future of agriculture should be, but probably will not. He’s one of those people who considers the human dimension when talking about economics.
I had not read that poem before, that’s awesome.
(And, ironically, just what I am going to be doing come Saturday – it’s my town’s annual “Responsible souls come and give up their Saturday to pick up the litter the creeps threw out of their car windows because they’re too lazy to look for a trash can” day. Still, I do it, because I grow tired of people talking about how things could be fixed when there’s stuff that needs fixing right outside the window).
(and yeah, I’m aware of the metaphor and symbolic commentary of the poem, but I’m in a literalist mood this morning)
yay! Another Wendell Berry fan! I was not aware of his agricultural essays – I think that’s very cool. His poems about marriage are so wonderful – make you just want to run right out and get married. At least they make me feel that way.
I think “The Gift of Good Land” (his best book of essays, IMHO) is out of print, but it’s worth tracking down if you want to read some of his other work.
He’s an interesting guy – one of those people who remains stubbornly a Renaissance Man in a world of increasing specialization.
I cherish that, because on my good days, I like to think of myself as a Renaissance Woman who has diverse interests. (On my bad days, I berate myself for being such a dilettante and not focusing on one thing and on doing that one thing well).
ricki – sometimes I feel like Eratosthenes, too.