be a person here

mm has long been a fan of william stafford. She and i are approaching our 8 yr anniversary and this wknd, in honor of this glorious event, we are going on a pilgrimage to WA, to track down his methow river signs

here is one of them:


Ask Me
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

- William Stafford