The Peace of Wild Things

Wendell Berry's wonderful poem, "The Peace of Wild Things". Some of the images, which speak the words so well, were provided by friends and members of the Marquette Michigan Unitarian Universalist Congregation and from SaveTheWildUP.org; many were contributed by Cindi Micheau of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Music by John Barry, from "Dances with Wolves".

The Peace of Wild Things

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.

— Wendell Berry

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Peace
• of
• Wild
• Things
• Wendell
• Berry
• nature
• sulfide
• mining
• UP
• Michigan
• UU

[AliParr]

I still love it.

[kkloskklos]

Makes me feel good, to "connect" with those who feel as I do. Thanks for the compliment. There's a wonderful episode of the "Wild" series on National Geographic channel, which you can find on Hulu. The title is "Tropic Gothic", and it's about a woman who truly understands the balance of things in this world, living in the rain forest in Australia. You'd probably love that show just as I do!

Kathy

[AliParr]

This is one of the most beautiful things I have seen on YouTube.

Thanks for taking the time to create and share it.

[kkloskklos]

Thank you!

[bevscorner]

Well done. The poem is beautiful. I've wondered for a few years now why so many single bird species visit our little pond out back: the same lone Great Blue Heron, the same single Great Egret, and lately one Wood Stork. I wonder what it says about all of nature, that they've separated from their own and yet together they frequent the same pond. Something tells me it's a warning, a sad warning.

[kkloskklos]

Thanks, Bev--

Researching the Heath Hen was interesting because of what went wrong despite good intentions and what was learned from that (Wikipedia has a good discussion). When I was 12, my teacher said all the Whooping Cranes would be gone by the time I was grown, and maybe the Sandhills too. Sandhills breed here, and it's wonderful to see them... I maybe enjoy them more because I know how close we came to losing them forever... and now, my grandkids have seen them too! Kathy

[chrisocony]

Great video. It's pretty tragic to see a photo of the vibrant bird in all its glorious character and then to know it is extinct.

[RascalRileyPicturess]

Wow! This was really nice! Thank-you for making a video that can and should open our eyes to what is happening in the world because of humans!