{"id":2426,"date":"2017-10-09T00:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T04:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2426"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:45:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:45:54","slug":"oct-9-denise-levertov-greyhaired-i-have-not-grown-wiser-unless-to-perceive-absurdity-is-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2017\/10\/09\/oct-9-denise-levertov-greyhaired-i-have-not-grown-wiser-unless-to-perceive-absurdity-is-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Oct 9  &#8212;  Denise Levertov   &#8212;  \u201cGreyhaired, I have not grown wiser, unless to perceive absurdity is wisdom.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>October 9, 2017 \u2013 \u00a0\u201cdrumming the roof, the rain\u2019s<br \/>\ninsistent heartbeat\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll be gone all week \u2014 Mon-Wed\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 meeting with Conference of Mercy Higher Education Mission officers in DC. \u00a0 Wed\u2014&gt;early Sat \u00a0 Denver for the Trustee meeting at Regis University. \u00a0 It\u2019s \u00a0probable there will be a Wednesday post but none on Friday. \u00a0 Why do all these early autumn travel days remind me of Denise Levertov\u2019s poem about falling in love as an elderly woman? \u00a0 The poem is as improbably playful as the leaves riding the wind gusts.<\/p>\n<p>I love the poem, \u00a0hope you do too.<\/p>\n<p>Have a good day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>john sj<\/p>\n<p><strong>today\u2019s post<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ancient Airs and Dances<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I<\/p>\n<p>I knew too well<br \/>\nwhat had befallen me<br \/>\nwhen, one night, I put my lips to his wineglass<br \/>\nafter he left\u2013an impulse I thought was locked away with a smile<br \/>\ninto memory\u2019s museum.<\/p>\n<p>When he took me to visit friends and the sea, he lay<br \/>\nasleep in the next room\u2019s dark where the fire<br \/>\nrustled all night; and I, from a warm bed, sleepless,<br \/>\nwatched through the open door<br \/>\nthat glowing hearth, and heard,<br \/>\ndrumming the roof, the rain\u2019s<br \/>\ninsistent heartbeat.<\/p>\n<p>Greyhaired, I have not grown wiser,<br \/>\nunless to perceive absurdity<br \/>\nis wisdom. A powerless wisdom.<\/p>\n<p>II<\/p>\n<p>Shameless heart! Did you not vow to learn<br \/>\nstillness from the heron<br \/>\nquiet from the mists of fall,<br \/>\nand from the mountain\u2013what was it?<br \/>\nPride? Remoteness?<br \/>\nYou have forgotten already!<br \/>\nAnd now you clamor again<br \/>\nlike an obstinate child demanding attention,<br \/>\ninterrupting study and contemplation.<br \/>\nYou try my patience. Bound as we are<br \/>\ntogether for life, must you now,<br \/>\nso late in the day, go bounding sideways,<br \/>\ntrying to drag me with you?<\/p>\n<p>Denise Levertov \u2013\u00a0<u>Evening Train<\/u><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2014\/10\/Denise-Levertov.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-866 \" src=\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2014\/10\/Denise-Levertov.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 9, 2017 \u2013 \u00a0\u201cdrumming the roof, the rain\u2019s insistent heartbeat\u201d I\u2019ll be gone all week \u2014 Mon-Wed\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 meeting with Conference of Mercy Higher Education Mission officers in DC. \u00a0 Wed\u2014&gt;early Sat \u00a0 Denver for the Trustee meeting at Regis &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2017\/10\/09\/oct-9-denise-levertov-greyhaired-i-have-not-grown-wiser-unless-to-perceive-absurdity-is-wisdom\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2427,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426\/revisions\/2427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}