Now I Become Myself
Now I Become Myself
Now I become myself. It’s taken
Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people’s faces,
Run madly, as if Time were there,
Terribly old, crying a warning,
“Hurry, you will be dead before–“
(What? Before you reach the morning?
Or the end of the poem is clear?
Or love safe in the walled city?)
Now to stand still, to be here,
Feel my own weight and density!
The black shadow on the paper
Is my hand; the shadow of a word
As thought shapes the shaper
Falls heavy on the page, is heard.
All fuses now, falls into place
From wish to action, word to silence,
My work, my love, my time, my face
Gathered into one intense
Gesture of growing like a plant.
As slowly as the ripening fruit
Fertile, detached, and always spent,
Falls but does not exhaust the root,
So all the poem is, can give,
Grows in me to become the song,
Made so and rooted by love.
Now there is time and Time is young.
O, in this single hour I live
All of myself and do not move.
I, the pursued, who madly ran,
Stand still, stand still, and stop the sun!
~May Sarton~
Image: Detail from Young Woman in Front of the Mirror, by Giovanni Bellini, c.1515
Beautiful sentiment. Thank you for these rich words. xoxo
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Oh Marie, how beautiful! When you share beautiful writing like this, I am inspired! And then I think, “Oh my goodness, Marie, who knows such beautiful writing, also appreciates MY writing.” What a compliment, dear. Xoxoxo.
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Jan and Elizabeth so happy you enjoyed this poem. It’s one of my favorites.
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oh, Marie, this poem is so what I aspire to be! I must find it in print and carry it with me – it’s so hard to live in the NOW, and I need these gorgeous words to spill from my eyes and be deeply but softly imprinted onto my heart. thank you so much for sharing it. much love, Karen xoxo
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Marie, you always seem to know just the right words to share each week. Thank you x
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Karen, it really is a profound and moving poem. So happy it resonates with you too x
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Beautiful image; beautiful verse. Thank you for inspiring us as always Marie
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