William Stafford

William Stafford (January 17, 1914 – August 28, 1993 / Kansas)

#142 on top 500 poets

Poems by William Stafford : 8 / 39

Ask Me - Poem by William Stafford

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Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

William Stafford

Poems by William Stafford : 8 / 39

Kid Me (3/30/2017 11:08:00 AM)

if you asking me I think you should've kys yourself before you died bc you depressed af cuz (Report) Reply
Martin Berame (3/6/2017 10:45:00 PM)

How can i put my work here? (Report) Reply
Leslie Philibert (11/14/2014 3:48:00 AM)

This fascinates me, especially the first verse that uses very original grammatical strcutures, strictly looked at lines
that don`t parse.I`ll look at his work, like this. (Report) Reply
Aftab Alam Khursheed (11/14/2014 1:56:00 AM)

poem that is on sublimity ask me..thank (Report) Reply
Jerry Buckley (3/22/2010 4:13:00 PM)

I agree with Julie Reynolds- Otrugman.....what she said... six stars and three thumbs up (Report) Reply
Julie Reynolds-Otrugman (1/17/2009 6:25:00 PM)

This is one of my favorite Stafford poems. It speaks to his quiet inner stillness, out of which his conviction, his steadfastness, his mysteriously reserved and resonant poetry speaks. 'Ask me whether what I have done is my life.' That is such a powerful statement. All of his many honors really meant very little. It was the rich pool of his hidden inner life, forever changing and renewing, that was 'his life'. I love that idea. It says that what you can see about a person is only the tip of the iceberg; the real life is submerged and sacred, untouchable, eternal. (Report) Reply
john tiong chunghoo (3/25/2006 12:12:00 AM)

yes, so meaningful is this poem.

swift river
so is time
listen to the river (Report) Reply