Few words, major impact

 

“You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” – William Stafford

Born in Hutchinson, Kansas on Jan. 17, 1914, Stafford taught poetry and writing for more than 30 years before his first major poetry collection - the National Book Award-winning Traveling Through the  - was published.  Over the next 30 years, until his death in 1993, Stafford published 60 more volumes of poetry and prose. Often compared to Robert Frost, Stafford won numerous honors and awards and served as Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress.  For Saturday’s Poem, here is Stafford’s,

 

                                                            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.