The Peace of Wild Things

Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Memorization

Every week  the Explorers will memorize a piece of poetry, a notable quote, or an excerpt from a famous document or speech.  Pieces will vary in length and increase in challenge as the year progresses.   You can help your child by being aware of the weekly piece, and by working with them to learn it for their recitation on Friday.    All pieces are in their poetry books, and a copy is located below as a downloadable PDF.  I hope this is fun, and imagine that at sometime in the future they are able to break out in verse.