Thursday, August 7, 2008

Things to Think

Things to Think


Think in ways you've never thought before.
If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message
Larger than anything you've ever heard,
Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.


Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,
Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose
Has risen out of the lake, and he's carrying on his antlers
A child of your own whom you've never seen.


When someone knocks on the door,
Think that he's about
To give you something large: tell you you're forgiven,
Or that it's not necessary to work all the time,
Or that it's been decided that if you lie down no one will die.


~ Robert Bly ~

2 comments:

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

That's a fun poem.

Except the part about bringing a bear to my door. That's too close to reality in this household! Wildcats we've had, and foxes and snakes. Snapping turtles bigger than a dinner plate have shown up at my front door, and birds the size of one joint of my little finger.

But so far, no bears!

Anonymous God-blogger said...

I won't wish any bears on you!
Your list of animal visitors is a poem in itself...