Morning Worship Poem by Mark Van Doren

Morning Worship

Rating: 3.1


I wake and hearing it raining.
Were I dead, what would I give
Lazily to lie here,
Like this, and live?

Or better yet: birdsong,
Brightening and spreading --
How far would I come then
To be at the world's wedding?

Now that I lie, though,
Listening, living,
(Oh, but not forever,
Oh, end arriving)

How shall I praise them:
All the sweet beings
Eternally that outlive
Me and my dying?

Mountains, I mean; wind, water, air;
Grass, and huge trees; clouds, flowers,
And thunder, and night.

Turtles, I mean, and toads; hawks, herons, owls;
Graveyards, and towns, and trout; roads, gardens,
Red berries, and deer.

Lightning, I mean, and eagles; fences; snow;
Sunrise, and ferns; waterfalls, serpents,
Green islands, and sleep.

Horses, I mean; butterflies, whales;
Mosses, and stars and gravelly
Rivers, and fruit.

Oceans, I mean; black valleys; corn;
Brambles, and cliffs; rock, dirt, dust, ice;
And warnings of flood.

How shall I name them?
And in what order?
Each would be first.
Omission is murder.

Maidens, I mean, and apples; needles; leaves;
Worms, and planers, and clover; whirlwinds; dew;
Bulls; geese --

Stop. Lie still.
You will never be done.
Leave them all there.
Old lover. Live on.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Tom Dunham 20 December 2019

Penultimate stanza. What does he mean by " planers" ? Is it a specie of trees?

0 0 Reply
Rajnish Manga 17 August 2016

This is indeed a celebration of nature as well as our life which holds so much beauty around us- extremely blissful. Thank you, Mark.

0 1 Reply
M Asim Nehal 13 January 2016

Superb poem, great imagery and nice flow.

0 1 Reply
Ratnakar Mandlik 13 January 2016

A marvelous soliloquy with torrential thoughts of motley colors. A lovely poem. Thanks for sharing.

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Hans Vr 02 June 2010

I really like this poem It is so full of meaning Let us just be grateful for all things, living and not as long as we live, as long as we live. Reading this poem has instantly got me in a reflective mood.

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