Poetry Friday: The World Has Need of You | Ellen Bass

DenaOctober 28, 2011

evolutionyou.net | poetry friday

The World Has Need of You | Ellen Bass

everything here seems to need us…
—Rilke

I can hardly imagine it
as I walk to the lighthouse, feeling the ancient
prayer of my arms swinging
in counterpoint to my feet.
Here I am, suspended
between the sidewalk and twilight,
the sky dimming so fast it seems alive.
What if you felt the invisible
tug between you and everything?
A boy on a bicycle rides by,
his white shirt open, flaring
behind him like wings.
It’s a hard time to be human. We know too much
and too little. Does the breeze need us?
The cliffs? The gulls?
If you’ve managed to do one good thing,
the ocean doesn’t care.
But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth,
the earth, ever so slightly, fell
toward the apple as well.

Comments (1)

  • Maxine Franklin

    June 29, 2016 at 12:48 am

    When we touch the pink petal, it caresses our finger pad as well. We’re all aware of each other, and love creates all forms.

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