Texas novelist and essayist Larry McMurtry, no slouch in writing sharp prose, once opined that “poets are the thoroughbreds of writers.”
All my life I’ve embraced God’s grace by lying on my back and floating, letting the water and that grace bear me up. This is my favorite floating spot, where the Belizean water is extremely soft and healing.
Throughout my life I’ve turned to poetry for relief when the world is too much with me. In 2018, I’ve been turning to poetry–reading and writing it–more than ever.
One of my favorite poets is Denise Levertov (1923-1977).
A devout Christian who became increasingly outspoken as an anti-war activist in the sixties, Levertov’s poetry grew evermore political–and was always high-minded. The body of work she left us deals with matters of personal conscience on social issues like war and environmental destruction.
Still, Levertov, the daughter of an Anglican minister who moved from England to the U.S. at age 25, frequently waxed eloquently about the most commonplace things in life. Things like a man walking two dogs in the rain, or sunlight glittering on trash in the street.
Everything she penned flowed from her wellspring of faith in the God she loved.
In her typically perceptive poem “The Avowal,” Levertov makes us feel and see how easy-breezy it is to let God’s “allsurrounding grace” hold us up.
Pictured with the iconic American monk and poet Thomas Merton (right) at his hermitage in Kentucky are fellow Kentucky poet Wendell Berry and another of my favorite all-time poets Denise Levertov.
I especially like the first three lines of “The Avowal.” I love nothing more than to lie on my back in a still body of water and allow it to bear me up, to float like a boat and watch the birds and clouds do their easy-breezy thing.
Enjoy “The Avowal” by Denise Levertov and remember: God’s grace is everywhere and extravagant.
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that allsurrounding
grace.
——————-
Learn more about her greatness Levertov here.
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