I was out filming goslings and ducklings in the peaceful ponds by our home here in Eugene, Oregon, when a line from William Stafford’s poem came into my mind, “Peace, you know.”
When I got home, I looked up the full text, and it goes like this:
Just Thinking
Got up on a cool morning. Leaned out a window.
No cloud, no wind. Air that flowers held
for awhile. Some dove somewhere.
Been on probation most of my life. And
the rest of my life been condemned. So these moments
count for a lot–peace, you know.
Let the bucket of memory down into the well,
bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No one
stirring, no plans. Just being there.
This is what the whole thing is about.
–William Stafford
I reached out to Kim Stafford, and he was kind enough to give me permission to make this recording to express the fullness of what I was feeling that day, what I feel every day now, here, deep in the fullness of spring.
Peace, you know.