For Carolyn Kizer and John Woodbridge,
Recalling Our Celebration
of George Herbert’s Birthday, 1983
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.
– Denise Levertov –
This poem is from Oblique Prayers, ©1984 by Denise Levertov, and also appears in Levertov’s
The Stream and the Sapphire: Selected Poems on Religious Themes.
Art: Calida Garcia Rawles, Radiating My Sovereignty, 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 84 × 72 in.
