Poetry Wednesday--James Still

This poem by James Still speaks of fatigue and rest.  The imagery of the fallen leaf and "this purple hour" makes me think of late Fall and Advent.  Let our masks fall away as we learn to rest in Christ.


Let This Hill Rest

Let the roots crawl into this failing earth,
Let the leaf fall, let day descend
On untilled slopes.  Let oak's girth
Strain and increase, vine drown the rock
And paling blossoms flow in creeping wind.

Let my heart rest this purple hour
With slow wandering in dull passages of breath,
In unwoven air, in sleep withdrawn from death,
And voiceless span the mountain's crumbling tower.
Let me lie here unstirred, unwaked and still,
Let my heart lean against this fallow hill.