Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ask Me



Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is here, hidden; and there
are comingss and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

-William Stafford

(From the Sunday Oregonian newspaper.)

Number of days until Bush's last full day in office: 1!

6 comments:

Eleanor said...

An enigmatic collage! It has me thinking! But I had to chuckle over your countdown re your outgoing President. Nothing enigmatic about that!

laura said...

What a beautiful, elegiac poem ... I want to copy it out to read again and again.
And what a cool piece of art--you're really moving into new things; it's very exciting to watch!
(One day! I feel giddy, delirious!)

A Brush with Color said...

What a beautiful poem and collage, Sharon. It is truly an auspicious occasion today--a day I will remember for the rest of my life. We also have 4" of snow today, unusual for NC, and it's beautiful out for this Inauguration day.

paris parfait said...

Love the poem/art combo - beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I love this piece, ma! Especially with the poem. I've seen you paint anything quite like this.

Sandy Maudlin said...

VERY cool!