Thursday, February 06, 2025

Poetry Friday: VII by Wendell Berry


This ("Sabbaths, 2005, VII") is a beautiful one from Wendell Berry. 

It begins like this:


I know I am getting old and I say so,
but I don't think of myself as an old man.
I think of myself as a young man
with unforeseen debilities. 


and ends like this: 


...And you, who are as old
almost as I am, I love as I loved you
young, except that, old, I am astonished
at such a possibility, and am duly grateful.


And now you must go here to read the dozen or so lines between that exquisite beginning and that sublime ending. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Carol Varsalona has the Poetry Friday round-up today at Beyond LiteracyLink


(Image by Mirka at Pixabay.)

3 comments:

Carol Varsalona said...

Karen, the poem is powerful -knowing aging is upon us but not thinking of ourselves as ol is a great thought. "I love these lines from the poem. Time is neither
young nor old, but simply new, always
counting,
Thanks for this wonderful poem.

Karen Edmisten said...

I love those lines, too, Carol. Thanks for stopping by!

Denise Krebs said...

Oh, Karen, you always pick out such winners. This is lovely. I can say with Wendell Berry:
"...that, old, I am astonished
at such a possibility, and am duly grateful."