Utter Stillness Rules These Woods

Last updated on: December 18, 2012 at 1:11 pm by Alexei Laushkin

Utter Stillness Rules These Woods 2012-12-18T13:11:15-05:00 Alexei Laushkin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Matthew Brown

Like Frost’s snowy evening, only quieter.
The horses under my hood will never question
stopping here now, nor in these anonymous times
would I have any idea whose woods these are
or where his house is, if I did not know
these woods were set aside.

Utter stillness rules these woods;
the silence is solid; darkness
wells up in me as joy. There is not
a twig in motion. Ragged bare
battered tops of trees take their rest
in a glow of night. The only movement is
a drift of crystal flakes that meander
soundless to their places in the
banks of the forest floor. Underground,
in hollows of trees, many creatures
rest and winter; roots, buds, bulbs
lie loaded with explosive springtime.
Would that such an energized silence
ruled in me.

Beyond the window
a white appears as if from fog,
a white containing its own light.
Outside, every tree, every branch
and each dry weed is frosted
with a condensation of snow;
seeds that cling to the ash
are now glass ornaments,
more than ornaments.
It’s as though the waters themselves
had stood up as trees
filled with light.

Reprinted with permission of the poet from ACRES Land Trust Quarterly, Vol. 51 – No. 1

http://www.acreslandtrust.org/clientimages/44551/2012events/winter2012/quarterly-50-4.pdf

Reflections on God's Creation

Advent

creation care

Evangelical Environmental Network

Matthew Brown

stillness

Previous Post

December 13, 2012

Why I Support Wind Energy

Next Post

December 20, 2012 EEN Supports Extreme Weather Resiliency Act

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Review Compassion for a World in Need Mercury and the Unborn Reflections on God's Creation The Christian Life The Public Square Uncategorized Worldview

Select a Month May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz