"The abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair."
- J.B. Lightfoot
Monday, June 30, 2008
Primary Wonder
Denise Levertov, from Sands of the Well
Days pass when I forget the mystery
Problems insoluble and problems offering
their own ignored solutions
jostle for my attention, they crowd its antechamber
along with a host of diversion, my courtiers, wearing
their colored clothes; cap and bells.
And then
once more the quiet mystery is present to me, the
throng's chamber recedes; the mystery
that there is anything, anything at all, let alone
cosmos, joy, memory, everything,
rather than void; and that, O Lord,
Creator, Hallowed One, You still,
hour by hour sustain it.
(quoted in Philip Yancey's Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?)
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Comments on ""Days pass when I forget the mystery"":
2. The Ancient Mariner
- 06/30/2008 10:36 am CDT
One minor thing: that's Denise Levertov (ends in a "v"), one of my favorite poets. The story of her conversion is rather a remarkable one.
3. Bill
- 06/30/2008 6:00 pm CDT
Thanks AM - my fault. I've fixed.
Do you have a link on her conversion story? I'd love to read it.
4. The Ancient Mariner
- 07/01/2008 8:47 am CDT
I don't know that I've ever seen it online; we studied her work in one of my sem classes, which is where I heard the story. (I don't remember if Maxine knew her or not; I know she knew the other modern poet we read, Margaret Avison, whom I also strongly recommend.) I'll have to see if I can dig up my notes, since I'm sure I have them around here somewhere. I remember her conversion came in the course of writing a long poem--I don't remember the title precisely, but it was structured according to the parts of the Mass--and you can see it happen over the course of the work. It's quite a remarkable thing.
Great poet. By all accounts, great human being, too.
5. dbd
- 07/02/2008 4:59 pm CDT
I'm surprised too!
Googling yields this cluster of articles about her work (the link is to one, others are listed in the sidebar). At first skim-through none seems to refer to her conversion, though.
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woe!!!!!