May Sarton (1912–1995)
Unison Benediction
Return to the most human,
nothing less will nourish the torn spirit,
the bewildered heart,
the angry mind:
and from the ultimate duress,
pierced with the breath of anguish,
speak of love.
Return, return to the deep sources,
nothing less will teach the stiff hands a new way to serve,
to carve into our lives the forms of tenderness
and still that ancient necessary pain preserve.
Return to the most human,
nothing less will teach the angry spirit,
the bewildered heart;
the torn mind,
to accept the whole of its duress,
and pierced with anguish...
at last, act for love.
May Sarton (1912–1995) was a Belgium-born poet, essayist, and novelist who moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1916 when her family fled the ravages of the war. By the time she died, she had published 53 books — 19 novels, 17 collections of poetry, 15 works of non-fiction, and two children’s books. Journal of a Solitude (1973) is considered one of her best works. This poem comes from Collected Poems: 1930-1993 (Open Road Media, 2014).
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
