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Let Evening Come

I am at the end of the week. It was good. Silver Birch Press invited me to submit a poem for publication and I sent End of the Week for an upcoming anthology. When I began to write poetry again a few months ago, it filled a creative and reflective void in my life. I did not expect the invitation, so I am grateful for the invitation and acceptance.

Jane Kenyon wrote this beautiful poem about the end of day. I think it speaks to the need for sabbath on a daily basis and at the end of the week. Last week, when I attended a presentation by Dr. Philip McCrae he used the term digital sabbath at one point. As I navigate this emergent digital landscape, I recognize the importance of taking time each day away from the computer. It made a difference this past week. In the silence, I find peace, wisdom, and love in the gap between each moment.

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don’t
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

About ivonprefontaine

I have been an educator for almost 20 years. Prior to that, I worked in private industry for 15 years, then returned to university to earn my education degree. For the past 11 years, I have been a co-creator of learning in a unique, progressive, alternative educational school of choice. Currently, I am engaged in a doctoral program at Gonzaga University in Spokane. A main theme in my learning there has been the roles of systems thinking, complexity theory, and organizational theory, and how they apply to education generally and the learning environment I share with students, parents, and colleagues.

32 Responses »

  1. Congrat’s on publication and thanks for sharing this poem. I do so agree. We need time away from our computers.

    Be well and happy weekend.

    Reply
  2. Congratulations on publication, Ivon. I enjoyed reading your poem and Jane Kenyon’s.
    Russ

    Reply
  3. You and I share a love for a lot of the same writers and poets, Ivon!

    Reply
  4. Congratulations Ivon! Beautiful poetry.

    Reply
  5. I too agree on time off from the computer and I do this usually every Sunday. Thank you for sharing your poem, it’s beautiful. And congratulation on the invitation. Sheri

    Reply
  6. Very nice. Wendell Berry has some great “Sabbath poems”. Have you read any of his work?

    Reply
    • Wendell Berry is one of my favourite poets. When I began this journey of a weekly sabbath, I used one of his poems. I love his view of the world and the need to see our world differently in rapidly changing times.

      Reply
  7. Congrats on the invitation!

    Reply
  8. This was such a beautiful read. Ivon. The poem is so lovely.

    Reply
  9. congratulations on your poem and the beautiful poem you shared.. and what a great idea – a digital sabbath – yes…

    Reply
  10. gorgeous imagery. Your words are perfectly chosen–not a one extra. And many congratulations, Ivon! (luv the “silver horn” of the moon…cuz it does call to you)

    Reply
  11. Magnificent, soothing poem…and congratulations on the request for a submission of your work! What a reaffirming way to end the week. I hope you are having a peaceful weekend..

    Reply
  12. Congratulations Ivan on your publication and for taking the digital Sabbath — very important.I love the light in the late afternoon and the restoration of silence that settles upon the day as afternoon turns to evening. How well you have expressed the mood and the feel of this magical time as evening comes. Blessings, Alia

    Reply
  13. Publication congratulations! Hope that’s the start of many more to come :)

    Reply
  14. Congrats! well deserved invitation

    Reply
  15. hi :) please pick up your awards at my page ^^ http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/about-damn-time/ xo, kz

    PS congrats on the publication. you really deserve it. there are plenty of wonderful gems, treasures here in your blog.

    Reply

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