Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Dana GioiaSeptember 28, 2016
 
Lord: it is time. Bright summer fades away.
Let sundials darken as your shadows grow.
Set loose your winds across the open fields.
 
Let the last fruit still ripen on the vine,
And give the grapes a few more southern days
To warm them to perfection, and then press
Their earthy sweetness into heavy wine.
 
Whoever has no house now never builds one.
Whoever is alone now stays alone.
Now he will wake and read, writing long letters,
Aimlessly wandering the empty lanes,
Restless as the leaves swirling round his feet.
 
(after R. M. Rilke)
 
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Edwin O’Connor, whose life and literary career were abruptly cut short by his 1968 death at the age of 49, captured the imagination of his audience like few other authors of his time.
James T. KeaneMarch 28, 2023
People sit in pews at Catholic Mass service as Bishop J. Mark Spalding in purple vestments consecrates the Eucharist in the background.
Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on March 27 to pray for the victims of the school shooting that morning at The Covenant School.
Father Luis Melquiades outside the Our Lady of Mercies chapel in Mercedes de Oriente, Honduras. Photo by Kevin Clarke.
In Honduras, subsistence farmers on the small parcels around the village struggle with erratic growing conditions because of climate change; the people are pressed by poverty and hunger. For many in small towns just like this, there is only one option: immigration.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2023
several protestors hold a sign that says justice is truth in action
On the final episode of this season of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria welcomes Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts to discuss the subject of anger and forgiveness.