I've posted this poem twice before (here and here), but it feels appropriate today again as I adjust to a new "Here." I love how it describes a specificity of landscape: "No two branches are the same to Wren." There are two possible wrens on my Likely Birds list here in Paraguay: a House Wren and a Thrush-like Wren. So even "Wren" in the poem is too generic.
Lost
by David Wagoner
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
At an event the other day, a lady I had just met asked how my adjustment was going. I told her it was up and down. She told me a story about some indigenous people here in Paraguay who had been given a lift in a large truck. Some of them had never ridden in a motorized vehicle before. When they reached their destination, the group sat quietly under a tree, and when someone asked why they were not going about their business, they replied that they were waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies. That, she told me, was probably how I was feeling, and I should be patient with myself. The story was so perfect that I teared up.
I am thankful for trees and parks, even here in the city, places where I can stand still and learn the sights and sounds of my new home. Even during this heat wave in which we arrived (temperatures up around 108 degrees some days), we have been able to be outside. We even found a library in one park! I tried to talk with the librarian in Spanish and it was a bit of a debacle, but I have big plans to go back again and even check out a book.
11 comments:
Yes, you are here, and any minute your soul will catch up with your body. I adore that poem, which more than most holds up to repeated readings in new settings. I love seeing pictures of a place that I have never tried to imagine before. Thanks for the vicarious trip!
Thinking of you resting as your soul catches up with your body...such a beautiful way to imagine it. And go you with your Spanish in the park library! So many new discoveries...your poems must be bursting will all this new life! xo
I love the idea of Here being "a powerful stranger". That's definitely how I felt for the first three years here in Switzerland. Now in year 4, we're acquaintances still figuring each other out. Know that the PF community is 'here' with you where ever you find yourself, Ruth. :)
I saved "Lost" in my poetry folder again. So true that it takes a while for the spirit to catch up to the body...maybe that is why travel in general is more tiring than seems reasonable? xo
It touches me, though quite different because of the language change, but when I moved from my home of about 40 years, I felt loss, seemed almost to be leaving my husband, too. The poem shows extraordinary understanding, doesn't it? And that woman who spoke with you gave you a gift like no other, also understanding, Ruth. Thank you for sharing your own knowledge. Best wishes for a good thing every day.
Such a perfect poem. Thank you. Many wishes for you...
Ruth, you and your husband are adventurous souls, 108 degrees surely beats the cold but it must be mighty hot where you are. Thanks for the wonderful poem. Sending you bushels of happiness.
Mmm...you have given me words to describe what it's been like to walk away from teaching after all these years. I need to slow down and give my soul a chance to catch up to my body. (Such a powerful image for so many different experiences of change.) I think of you when I practice Spanish on DuoLingo. Such unhelpful words and phrases for things like chatting with a librarian! (Un examen dificil!)
"Wherever you are is called Here." I love how this poem speaks to so much in our lives right now. The being present is tough when your soul hasn't caught up yet.
I love your post this week Ruth, I hope that your soul will mosey on over to your body in the not to near future, though I really enjoyed hearing this story and how important it is to allow ourselves sometime to adapt to a new place, time doesn't always run on a 24 hour clock… This ending spoke to me,
"The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you."
How comforting and also puts us wherever the "here" is. I'm looking forward to hear more about your bird discoveries as they unfold, thanks for sharing all, oh and that pic is fabulous, a library park–what a wonderful setting for the library!
What a beautiful comment. Full of grace and understanding. I am sure your soul will fall in love with this new place and people - because it is a part of you.
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