The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
~ William Stafford ~
There are poems which speak to seasons, and then there are poems which speak to lifespans. ‘The Way It Is’, by William Stafford, is one of those poems I have been returning to for years, for reassurance, and also intrigue. What on earth is the thread? I have been asking myself this nagging question of the poem for years, and then I found out about the old Celtic idea of our dán (pronounced ‘dawn’), or our soul’s gift. Somehow, I think they are related.
As Spring rises, albeit tentatively, in the Celtic rhythm of the year this is a time of tending. Emerging from deep wintering, through the dark and then the dreamtime, we are now invited into emergence. Pulsing with the tendrils of our longings in one chamber of our heart, and the quickening of our intention in another, we are reminded that in Spring, the earth herself, having composted the sheddings from the autumn, is now turning also to new growth. In birdsong, branch and bone, it is a time of collective awakening. But here is where the wisdom of the dán, and the core question of this poem, can help us listen differently to what might want to emerge from the dreamtime this spring.
Very often, when we think of growth, longing, or desire, we think in forward trajectories. The future is something to work towards, in a linear way. The answer or solution is ‘out there’, beyond us. However, within Stafford’s poem, I find echos of the cyclical or seasonal wisdom we also find in the Celtic rhythm: the idea of the eternal thread within us; a lifeline perhaps there since birth, threading us to our innate potential. With this in mind, turning toward the future need not only be an outward gesture, but an inward one too, deepening our capacity to listen and then tend to the longings we hear stirring, even if they are only in whispers.
When Stafford speaks of holding onto the thread, I can’t help but also think of our connection to our dán. Might the expression of our soul’s gift be this very thread we are encouraged to hold onto, season by season, even if we don’t quite fully understand it, or it does not make sense to others either? Each spring, in collaboration with the earth’s own quickening, we are encouraged to listen to our dreams, our longings, and continue to pursue them, irrespective of how nebulous they are. Maybe they show up as gut feelings, or inklings that keep returning. Maybe there is a story that keeps seeking to be written, or an idea that just won’t go away. Could this be the dán knocking; the tread that was there all along?
One of the things I love about following the Celtic seasons, is that this quality of turning inwards to listen becomes a way of being, where we are continually invited to tend to our gift, and like nature itself, unfold with the seasons. Expand that over the course of a lifespan and our own emergence is as much a part of the earth’s eternal story as the daffodils and birdsong are. Flip it around and perhaps we too are the earth’s dream for herself, an expression of her own dán, and she is patiently waiting, season by season, for the expression of our gifts. ‘You don’t ever let go of the thread’, she might say to us. ‘Don’t ever let go of the thread’. Somehow, I take great reassurance in this also, and intrigue.
For this week’s creative retreat, I have a writing prompt for you.
When you think about the thread in the poem, what does this represent to you? And how might this be linked to the expression of your own dán, or your soul’s gift?
Would love to hear your comments/ responses…
Thank you.
Clare. x
Coming up on The Wild Edge- for paid members
Upcoming Owl Hours: Creative Practice Circles. Find out more here. March 6th, 13th, 25th - 8-9pm Irish/ UK time.
Spring Seasonal Salon- Poetry, Journaling and Seasonal Ritual
Friday March 21st, 7-8.30pm. Tickets included in Gold Membership. Otherwise, tickets here.
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