A Sunday Poem – When We Cease From Thought

How does Wendell Berry know what to say? This is from 2004:

If we have become a people incapable
of thought, then the brute-thought
of mere power and mere greed
will think for us.

If we have become incapable
of denying ourselves anything,
then all that we have will be taken from us.

If we have no compassion,
we will suffer alone, we will suffer
alone the destruction of ourselves.

These are merely the laws of this world
as known to Shakespeare, as known to Milton:

When we cease from human thought,
a low and effective cunning
stirs in the most inhuman minds.
This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry

I think the majority of people in the US showed themselves to be people of thought in the 2020 Presidential Election. Here’s to more years of paying attention, learning from our past, and working towards a better future!

May you all have a peaceful, quiet, and safe Sunday.