Sunday, October 14, 2012

Milosz's Faith for the Faithless

To M:

Nights will be darker and starless as more rain comes. But the earth rotates tirelessly no matter how heavy the burden it carries. Rest assured that stars will come out soon. 



Faith
Czeslaw Milosz

The word Faith means when someone sees
A dew-drop or a floating leaf, and knows
That they are, because they have to be.
And even if you dreamed, or closed your eyes
And wished, the world would still be what it was,
And the leaf would still be carried down the river.

It means that when someone’s foot is hurt
By a sharp rock, he also knows that rocks
Are here so they can hurt our feet.
Look, see the long shadow cast by the trees;
And flowers and people throw shadows on the earth:
What has no shadow has no strength to live.

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