The World Has Need of You

The World Has Need of You by Ellen Bass

everything here seems to need us…
—Rilke

I can hardly imagine it
as I walk to the lighthouse, feeling the ancient
prayer of my arms swinging
in counterpoint to my feet.
Here I am, suspended
between the sidewalk and twilight,
the sky dimming so fast it seems alive.
What if you felt the invisible
tug between you and everything?
A boy on a bicycle rides by,
his white shirt open, flaring
behind him like wings.
It’s a hard time to be human. We know too much
and too little. Does the breeze need us?
The cliffs? The gulls?
If you’ve managed to do one good thing,
the ocean doesn’t care.
But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth,
the earth, ever so slightly, fell
toward the apple as well.

Pat xx

5 Likes

Nice Pat

Sonia x

2 Likes

I think that’s a gorgeous poem. Thank you, Pat, for sharing your happiness with us.

Anthony

2 Likes

Lovely poem Pat, thanks for sharing

Pam x

1 Like

Beautiful Pat!

Nina x

2 Likes

Wow. I love a bit of poetry. I haven’t done any lately. I will now. Thank-you.

2 Likes

I love the poem Pat thanks for sharing it with us. There is so much good stuff written at times I try and read more in the vain hope I can read it all but no like the apple and the earth the space moves and I will never achieve nirvana

XXX Don

1 Like

Lovely poem Pat

Wendy x

1 Like

Good poem Pat, My favourite is "if " by Rudyard Kipling its always meant a lot to me I learnt it off by heart when i was 15 and had to recite in front of the class…i think it sums up my life and everything i belive in. Lee wrote it in calligraphy for me a few years ago and i have it framed on my wall.

Michelle

2 Likes

Wonderful stuff Pat. I especially love the last two lines.

Kev