"Poems, Prayers, & Promises" #14

Featuring Wendell Berry and The Mammals

Aug 18, 2023

Welcome to another day of “Poems, Prayers, & Promises”

Remember, you’re the co-creator of this dive. Do as much or as little as you’d like, when you’d like, how you’d like, with the materials I provide. Just keep gentle faith with yourself.

Set your intention

Take a moment to name the primary intention you have for this month-long deep dive and/or this particular session. Take a quiet moment to center yourself in that intention.

Enter the music

Read the poem

I invite you to read this poem twice—aloud, at least once. You may also listen to my reading of the poem, perhaps with your eyes closed.

1×

0:00

-0:44

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published


VI: SABBATHS 2001
Wendell Berry

Sit and be still
until in the time
of no rain you hear
beneath the dry wind’s
commotion in the trees
the sound of flowing
water among the rocks,
a stream unheard before,
and you are where
breathing is prayer.


(found at this link)

Contemplate/Create

Use any of these questions however you wish—e.g., as openings for meditation or prayer, as prompts for journaling or poetry-writing, as sparks for drawing or painting, as catalysts for change-making . . . You may also ignore my questions altogether to go off in other directions!

How do you interpret “the time of no rain”? Are you in such a time right now? How would you describe this season of your life?
The poet speaks of a “stream unheard before” that begins to emerge during the dry time. In other words, even in that dry time, you can intuit in the stillness of your being some sense of the relief that will somehow come. For this to happen, you needn’t do anything except to show up, be still, and listen. How easy do you find it to “sit and be still”? What helps you befriend stillness?
This poem relies heavily on auditory imagery—the sound of wind in the trees, of water among the rocks. How do you interpret these sounds? What do they represent for you?
When you pray (or meditate), how aware of your breathing are you? Might you wish to experiment more with letting your awareness rest lightly upon your breath?
Does your consideration of this poem move you to make any kind of promise to yourself or someone else?

Want to visit with other Rafters in the Deep Dive?

Here are two options: either leave a comment on this post using the button, or join the chat thread dedicated to this Deep Dive. (Note: if you haven’t created a Substack profile yet, you’ll be asked to do so before you can comment or chat.)

Join us on September 5 for “Rafter Refuge”!

6:30-8:00PM Central (7:30 ET, 5:30 MT, 4:30 PT)

Let’s close this Deep Dive with a time of sharing. Come and reflect with other Rafters on “Poems, Prayers, & Promises.” Registration is required for this celebration.