"Go quietly, Carry little."

Poetry, quotations, personal reflections from a lover of the wilderness, a lover of the silence....


Monday, December 15, 2008

I am not available
At the moment
Except to myself.

Downstairs the plumber
Is emptying the big tank,
Water-logged.
The pump pumped on and on
And might have worn out.

So many lives pour into this house,
Sometimes I get too full;
The pump wears out.

So now I am emptying the tank.
It is not an illness
That keeps me from writing.
I am simply staying alive
As one does
At times by taking in,
At times by shutting out.

~May Sarton, from A Winter Notebook

via Whiskey River.
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4 comments:

  1. ErinDecember 15, 2008 at 9:05 PM

    I hope you are more than staying alive in this quiet...
    I hope you are finding riches.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ValDecember 15, 2008 at 11:33 PM

    "I am simply staying alive
    As one does
    At times by taking in,
    At times by shutting out."


    And when we "shut out" those closest to us, we also must remember to forgive ourselves - not for shutting others' out - but because we feel guilt in doing so.

    ...the new dawn, the new day...

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 17, 2008 at 8:16 AM

    Thank you for finding this for us. I know some of Sarton's novels and journals, but not her poetry. I see I shall have to delve.
    On what Val says, I agree. Sometimes shutting out is simply treating ourselves with as much love as we would hope to treat others.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ADecember 17, 2008 at 10:55 AM

    Thank you all for your comments. I'm glad you found something of value here, and yes, Val and Tess, I agree....

    ReplyDelete

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