I love this poem for its ordinariness and its straightforwardness. I tend to overthink everything (I don't think anyone who knows me would argue with that), and sometimes it's good to be reminded of what is good in the world, and to focus on that before facing the newsfeed. I've been home sick for the last two days, and tomorrow (Friday; I'm typing this Thursday night) I'll go back to work, although I suspect I'm not quite ready. At least my voice is mostly back, due to resting it for two days. And in spite of the chaos that always awaits after two days with subs, however excellent those subs are, I'm trusting there will be "pieces of Heaven" to be collected in my classroom. You'll find that phrase in the last stanza of the poem if you click through at the link at the end.
Any Morning
by William Stafford
Just lying on the couch and being happy.
Only humming a little, the quiet sound in the head.
Trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment, it has
so much to do in the world.
People who might judge are mostly asleep; they can’t
monitor you all the time, and sometimes they forget.
When dawn flows over the hedge you can
get up and act busy.
Here's the third (and last) stanza.
Mary Lee has this week's roundup.
Here's a morning photo I took on my walk to work one day early in November; it certainly looks as though "Trouble is busy elsewhere," doesn't it?
14 comments:
Thanks for sharing this William Stafford poem--I love that line "Trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment..."
Hope you make it through to the weekend and have a wonderful one, Ruth, finding your own little "piece of heaven". Lovely picture!
What a wonderful poem. I agree, there are pieces of Heaven everywhere, if we only remember to look!
Hope you are feeling better today :)
I really like this poem Ruth, especially those little
" pieces of Heaven
left lying around, can be picked up and saved.
People won’t even see that you have them,
they are so light and easy to hide."
And to save those " pieces of Heaven" to ward off the ones that might judge you, Thanks!
Hope you are feeling better too.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. I will be looking for little pieces of heaven to squirrel away. It is a good reminder for me in face of the neverending deluge of news--mostly not good, but some inspiring stories are hidden there, too. Hope you feel better and have a good day back to school.
I have taken the day off today, Ruth, because I have lost my voice. It's that time of year, I guess. Love the serenity of both your poem and the photograph you shared.
Given everything that's happening this morning, the stanza of this poem are exactly how I felt, too. It did make for a serene morning. I hope you feel better and have a relaxing weekend,
Great photo, great poem. Thank you
Love this poem. Thanks for the Stafford fix this week, Ruth. Hope you feel better soon!
I love the personification and the connection to the world, but yet the secrets stolen away from it. A great poem to reflect on while home sick. I hope you are all better and will find your pieces of heaven every day. I find them, but I don't always recognize them right away.
I hope you are feeling better now, Ruth! Thanks so much for sharing this William Stafford poem; one I didn't know, but now love. :0)
I love your poem finds and shares. This one is a delight. It makes me laugh....but keep the happy feeling in my pocket. I hope you feel better and stronger for the week ahead. The approaching holidays don't make school easy, do they?
Oof-- Ruth. I feel you posting from inside your illness, from a desire for "trouble to be busy elsewhere." Hope pieces of Heaven littered your path on Friday and that your pockets are full of light and easy to hide!
I saw what you said about losses and I think you and I are of a similar stripe: when you spend your life being an optimist and then you get old enough and wise enough to see the truth, that's the consummate loss, and it throws us off course in a big way.
I love everything about this poem. You have given us a little piece of heaven for our pockets. Thank you!
Hope you're feeling better (Tara, too.) I've got the class crud, but am hoping to skip the laryngitis part. We'll see what happens after a day of teaching tomorrow...
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