At the end of long weekend, I returned to the wisdom of Wendell Berry. Oh, for the peace of simple things and the dumb life of roots! (If you haven’t read The Peace of Wild Things, then you MUST follow this link to hear Wendell Berry read the powerful companion piece and fitting follow-up to this poem.)
The Want of Peace by Wendell Berry
All goes back to the earth, and so I do not desire pride of excess or power, but the contentments made by men who have had little: the fisherman’s silence receiving the river’s grace, the gardener’s musing on rows. I lack the peace of simple things. I am never wholly in place. I find no peace or grace. We sell the world to buy fire, our way lighted by burning men, and that has bent my mind and made me think of darkness and wish for the dumb life of roots.
From The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry, published by Counterpoint, 1998: page 29.
the deepening ground 
“The dumb life of roots” – what a memorable line and one my heart resonates with so strongly in this season of constant movement and noise. Oh the noise. Good noise, but consistent noise, no matter how good makes me long for “the contentments of men who have had little.” ❤️
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That’s the line I love so much as well! How we balance the noise with the deep quiet is like a tree, whose roots remain grounded even when storms thrash about the leafy branches.
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Beautiful this weekend reminder of what peace looks like!
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Thanks! I often head back to Berry and Mary Oliver when I need to be grounded again.
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