Poem of the Day:

The well rising without sound,
the spring on a hillside,
the plowshare brimming through deep ground
everywhere in the field -

The sharp swallows in their swerve
flaring and hesitating
hunting for the final curve
coming closer and closer -

The swallow heart from wingbeat to wingbeat
counseling decision, decision:
thunderous examples. I place my feet
with care in such a world.

About This Poem

• POET
  William E. Stafford 1914–1993
  
  
• POET’S REGION
  U.S., Northwestern
  
  
• POETIC TERMS
• Free Verse

"The Well Rising" copyright 1960, 1998 the Estate of William Stafford. Reprinted from The Way It Is with the permission of Graywolf Press. www.graywolfpress.org

Source: The Darkness Round Us Is Deep (HarperPerennial, 1993)