Do Not Be Ashamed

Do Not Be Ashamed
—by Wendell Berry

You will be walking some night
in the comfortable dark of your yard
and suddenly a great light will shine
round about you, and behind you
will be a wall you never saw before.
It will be clear to you suddenly
that you were about to escape,
and that you are guilty: you misread
the complex instructions, you are not
a member, you lost your card
or never had one. And you will know
that they have been there all along,
their eyes on your letters and books,
their hands in your pockets,
their ears wired to your bed.
Though you have done nothing shameful,
they will want you to be ashamed.
They will want you to kneel and weep
and say you should have been like them.
And once you say you are ashamed,
reading the page they hold out to you,
then such light as you have made
in your history will leave you.
They will no longer need to pursue you.
You will pursue them, begging forgiveness.
They will not forgive you.
There is no power against them.
It is only candor that is aloof from them,
only an inward clarity, unashamed,
that they cannot reach. Be ready.
When their light has picked you out
and their questions are asked, say to them:
"I am not ashamed." A sure horizon
will come around you. The heron will begin
his evening flight from the hilltop.

Originally posted by vistesd
Do Not Be Ashamed
—by Wendell Berry

You will be walking some night
in the comfortable dark of your yard
and suddenly a great light will shine
round about you, and behind you
will be a wall you never saw before.
It will be clear to you suddenly
that you were about to escape,
and that you are guilty: you misread
the complex instructions, you are no ...[text shortened]... A sure horizon
will come around you. The heron will begin
his evening flight from the hilltop.

The reference to the heron reminded me of a line from an evocative Dylan Thomas poem, 'And the mussel pooled and the heron Priested shore'. The beautiful thing about Christianity is that we can experience a cleansing of conscience, not an act of excusing ourselves or of self justification, but a realisation that God is greater than our hearts.

I hate poetry. Well, not exactly. I guess it makes me feel inadequate.

I guess the op, what , big brother in your face? But I've done nothing wrong, so fo? A rail against government surveillance? The heron thing, I'll go my own way tyvm?

I hate poetry.

Originally posted by apathist

Hey, that wasn't too bad yourself.
We just need to touch it up a bit.

I hate poetry.
Well, not exactly.
I guess it makes me feel inadequate.

I guess the op, what , big brother in your face?
But I've done nothing wrong, so fo?
A rail against government surveillance?
The heron thing,
I'll go my own way tyvm?
I hate poetry.

Applause.

Originally posted by sonship
...
Applause.

Start the long hard day with a chuckle, I just did. ty

There’s no fault in not “getting” poetry—I don’t get higher mathematics (beyond basic calculus—but I have forgotten all of that as well).

Good poetry, especially good lyric poetry, does not tell you what you must think (or feel, in the case of purer lyricism)—including about the content of the poem itself. If the poem offers some meaning by connecting with you in your life, then well and good; if not, then not. The same for music and painting, for example.

De gustibus non est disputandum

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
The reference to the heron reminded me of a line from an evocative Dylan Thomas poem, 'And the mussel pooled and the heron Priested shore'. The beautiful thing about Christianity is that we can experience a cleansing of conscience, not an act of excusing ourselves or of self justification, but a realisation that God is greater than our hearts.

"Poem In October", I believe. 🙂

Originally posted by apathist
I hate poetry. Well, not exactly. I guess it makes me feel inadequate.

I guess the op, what , big brother in your face? But I've done nothing wrong, so fo? A rail against government surveillance? The heron thing, I'll go my own way tyvm?

I hate poetry.

Thumbs up for that point. I find poetry both beautiful and oppressive. The beauty is obvious, the oppression is that I'm left feeling I cannot express such beauty myself. So yes, poetry is oppressive.

Originally posted by DeepThought
Thumbs up for that point. I find poetry both beautiful and oppressive. The beauty is obvious, the oppression is that I'm left feeling I cannot express such beauty myself. So yes, poetry is oppressive.

And one could say that about painting, music, higher mathematics and physics--anything that one sees as somehow elegant that one cannot individually participate in at some level of proficiency (either as a “purveyor” or a “recipient” ). I feel at such a loss, for example, when I read you and LemonJello in philosophy—though I am existentially interested in the subjects at hand. So it is not only poetry—or even art.