Wonder and Joy

A Solstice poem for all of you.

Wonder and Joy

Robinson Jeffers – 1887-1962

The things that one grows tired of—O, be sure
They are only foolish artificial things!
Can a bird ever tire of having wings?
And I, so long as life and sense endure,
(Or brief be they!) shall nevermore inure
My heart to the recurrence of the springs,
Of gray dawns, the gracious evenings,

The infinite wheeling stars. A wonder pure
Must ever well within me to behold
Venus decline; or great Orion, whose belt
Is studded with three nails of burning gold,
Ascend the winter heaven. Who never felt
This wondering joy may yet be good or great:
But envy him not: he is not fortunate.

*. *. *.

And on a more prosaic note, this meme.

9 thoughts on “Wonder and Joy

    1. deemallon Post author

      We missed the standing O that he got entering the chamber but did manage to watch most of the speech. Certainly something to be grateful for — and such a reminder of how awful it was for trump to be the one in charge (I don’t know if you remember but he denied Zelenskyy a visit to the White House — along with his infamous attempt to extort him).

      Reply
  1. RainSluice

    Thanks, and *Yes*: Happy Solstice and Holidays to you, Dee, and all here!
    We just got back to NJ after a week in a high snowbound Catskill valley – full of nature’s wonders. Very fortunate indeed.
    Love that poem, never came across it before.
    You inspired me to search for something-Alice-Hoffman, and though this is probably commonplace, I hope you like it:
    “My feet are bare and I can feel everything growing right through me, straight into heart. I need to be hidden. To be one with the earth.”
    from Green Witch.
    We only saw snippets of Zelenskyy on the later newscast, but, slept so much better. There must have been visions of indictments in our dreams!! Cheers – M

    Reply

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