I'm sure she won't mind if I reproduce it here. I was rather taken with it. My life seems very complicated these days. I need the reminder, so it's now on the fridge.
I Have Found Such Joy in Simple Things.
I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain clean room, a nut brown loaf of bread
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.
I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days : a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon the window sill,
A rose, fresh cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joy I wish I might
Tell everyone who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight
That very close to home the great joys are :
The elemental things -- old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.
- Grace Nell Crowell
It occurs to me that I would add dawns and dusks to the list, too. Look at this one:
click me to get closer.
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| View down the river on an early morning walk. |
Since I borrowed it from Sue , you are very welcome. Lovely isn't it? I'm making a copy and framing it. Just have to find the right place to hang it then.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Thanks Helsie. It would look great done in calligraphy and maybe with some little illustrations around the edges. If I had the time... or could do calligraphy heh.
ReplyDeleteBut then on the other hand you could just enjoy the simple font in which it appears now and then you can use the time just to read it and ponder upon life, the universe and everything.
DeleteDawn would be at the top of my list!
ReplyDeleteAw... that's so nice AF.
DeleteDawn, dusk, midday with warm sun on my face. I sometimes wish for a simple life. Then I realise just how careful one has to be in case one's wishes are granted. When I moved to this Island in the Atlantic life was relatively simple. Nearly 40 years later it is almost unbelievably complicated. Would I change now for then? No.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point Geeb.
DeleteThank you for this - In post earthquake Christchurch, I seem to have found myself re-appreciating the joys of simple things - shelter, warmth, friends. I don't want to think this is how it will be forever, but for now, I need a haven to enjoy these things, less stress. I have more than enough to deal with "out there"!
ReplyDeleteWhen the basics of shelter are threatened Fi, I bet you really appreciate it! Cyber-hugs...
DeleteI wondered why the name Grace Noll Crowell seemed so familiar. When I read about her here, I saw that she had once been named Poet Laureate of Texas (the state I lived in as a child).
ReplyDeleteAnd the answer to life, the universe, and everything (as all Texans know) is 42.
That's interesting, Robert. Not about the 42... that's OLD news.
DeletePS my father loves quoting 42 too.
DeleteClick on my link, Katherine, and you'll find I was referring to a domino game played in Texas and only obliquely, in my sly way, to the famous line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Quite a coincidence, actually.
DeleteYou're right, Robert. I did think you were referring to The Guide. Now that is interesting. That a certain type of game of dominos is the
Delete"... official State Domino Game of Texas". That really tickles my fancy. Do you have an Official State Poker Game? Or an Official State Billiards Game? or .... my mind has just begun to boggle.
Boggle is a word game so that's very appropriate.
DeleteWhat a lovely poem. Yes we most not always reach for the stars but remember to look and find joy in the simple things. Thanks to both you and Helsie.
ReplyDeleteOh Kirsten, maybe stars are some of the simple things too. They're in everyone's backyard :-)
Delete