Poetry for the Soul

Li Po and the Moon - Mary Oliver*

There is the story of the old Chinese poet:
at night alone in his boat he went drinking and dreaming
and singing,

then drowned as he reached for the moon's reflection.
Well, probably each of us, at some time, has been
just as desperate.

Not the moon, though.




In those times when your defences are down what do you reach for?
How is what you reach for merely a reflection of what you actually desire?


*Published in Parabola Summer 2008