Still Listening

You See I Want a Lot

You see, I want a lot.

Maybe I want it all:

the darkness of each endless fall

the shimmering light of each ascent.

So many are alive who don’t seem to care.

Casual, easy, they move in the world

as though untouched.

But you take pleasure in the faces

of those who know they thirst.

You cherish those

who grip you for survival.

You are not dead yet, it’s not too late

to open your depths by plunging into them

and drink in the life

that reveals itself quietly there.

Rainer Maria Rilke 

There is a Place Beyond Ambition 

 Flute player by Raghu Rai

 

When the flute players couldn’t think of what to say next

they laid down their pipes,

then they lay down themselves

beside the river

and just listened.

Some of them, after a while,

jumped up

and disappeared back inside the busy town.

But the rest—

so quiet, not even thoughtful—

are still there,

still listening. 

    Mary Oliver