A Ritual to Read to Each Other

[Guest guest]

A Ritual To Read To Each Other

 

If you don't know the kind of person I amand I don't know the kind of

person you area pattern that others made may prevail in the worldand

following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,a shrug that lets the

fragile sequence breaksending with shouts the horrible errors of

childhoodstorming out to play through the broken dyke.

And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,but if one

wanders the circus won't find the park,I call it cruel and maybe the

root of all crueltyto know what occurs but not recognize the fact.

And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,a remote important

region in all who talk:though we could fool each other, we should

consider—lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,or a breaking line may

discourage them back to sleep;the signals we give—yes or no, or

maybe—should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.

 

—William Stafford

Attachment: (image/gif) Ivy.gif [not stored]