News & Views
Poems for These Times: 5
(26 April 2020)
The Weighing
by Jane Hirshfield
This week’s offering is by the American poet Jane Hirshfield (b. 1953). Her poems are known for their meditative quality – she has studied Zen Buddhism – as well as embodying environmental and social awareness
The Weighing
The heart’s reasons
seen clearly,
even the hardest will carry
its whip-marks and sadness
and must be forgiven.
As the drought-starved
eland forgives
the drought-starved lion
who finally takes her,
enters willingly then
the life she cannot refuse,
and is lion, is fed,
and does not remember the other.
So few grains of happiness
measured against all the dark
and still the scales balance.
The world asks of us
only the strength we have and we give it.
Then it asks more, and we give it.
Poems for These Times
‘Poems for These Times’ is a special collection of poetry offered in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is intended as a way of sustaining us, and to give us something on which to meditate together during these difficult and challenging times.
There will be just one poem each week, so that we can really stay with what is offered. We can read it – perhaps aloud – to ourselves or to any companions in our isolation, and sense the vibrations through our whole being. For poetry has the power to affect us on every level – body, mind, heart and soul. It has a magic, which, in the words of poet Adrienne Rich:
“… goes back very far: the rune; the chant; the incantation; the spell; the kenning; sacred words; the naming of the child; the plant, the insect, the ocean, the configuration of stars, the snow, the sensation in the body… The physical reality of the human voice.”
Of course, not every poem will appeal to everyone – that is inevitable. But there is also the possibility that staying with something that does not immediately appeal can be stimulating and helpful. Experience suggests that sustained attention and contemplation of a poem’s music, words and thoughts can be deeply rewarding.
It would be lovely to share any responses and thoughts you may have through our comments section below.
Barbara Vellacott
Sources (click to close)
Poem: From Jane Hirshfield, Each Happiness Ringed by Lions: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2005).
www.bloodaxebooks.com
Banner: Malaga, Spain. Residents applaud in the evening from their balconies to show gratitude to people in front-line health and emergency services – a custom which has been adopted throughout the world. The Spanish flag with the black ribbon is a symbol of mourning for the 20,000+ Spaniards who have died in the pandemic so far. Photograph: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live News, 16 April 2020.
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Thank you for sharing this raw and inspiring poem,
Sophia
Thank you for this powerful, moving poem.