By Wendell Berry
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.
About the Poem
Last night, I asked my friend Casey what his favorite poem is, and he sent me this poem. I was not overly familiar with Wendell Berry, but I thought this poem was just so beautiful. Casey said, “Wendell Berry holds a special place in my heart, because he is an agrarian and his vision of agriculture as taking care of God’s land is beautiful.” The beauty of nature and the belief that God created something as beautiful as the Earth we live on, is truly a wonder in itself.
Berry’s poem “Our Real Work” reflects his deep philosophical and ecological concerns, as well as his belief in the power of humility, intuition, and a deeper connection with life and nature. The poem suggests that uncertainty is not a sign of failure or inadequacy but rather a threshold to deeper meaning and purpose. When we are lost or confused, we may be closer to discovering our true selves and the work we are meant to do. This counters a cultural obsession with certainty, productivity, and control.
Berry contrasts superficial busyness with “our real work” and “our real journey.” These phrases imply a calling beyond societal expectations or material goals. It is only when we lose the sense of direction imposed by external forces that we can connect with something more authentic and profound. The line “The impeded stream is the one that sings” encapsulates the idea that resistance or difficulty can produce beauty, depth, and creativity. Without challenges, life and the mind become stagnant. Struggle is essential to growth, much like obstacles in a stream create its melody. The poem’s emphasis on bafflement and challenge suggests that meaningful engagement requires more than logical thinking. Berry calls for a holistic approach, engaging intuition, creativity, and openness to mystery.
As a farmer and environmentalist, Berry often draws from natural imagery to express his ideas. The stream becomes a metaphor for the human condition, with its impediments giving rise to its “song”—a symbol of life’s beauty and richness born of struggle. “Our Real Work” encourages readers to embrace uncertainty, trust in the process of struggle, and find fulfillment not in achieving clear outcomes but in engaging with life authentically. It suggests that by letting go of the need for control, we can align with a deeper, more intuitive sense of purpose.
About the Poet
Wendell Berry is an acclaimed American poet, essayist, novelist, environmental activist, and farmer. Berry was born on August 5, 1934, in Henry County, Kentucky. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of Kentucky. As a poet, he is celebrated for his eloquent and thoughtful exploration of themes like community, nature, sustainability, and the human connection to the land. He has been a prominent voice in contemporary literature, offering insights into both the beauty and fragility of life, while advocating for ecological responsibility and local living.
After some time teaching and writing in various locations, Berry returned to Kentucky in the mid-1960s, settling on a farm in Port Royal. This return to the land became central to his life and work. Berry is a fierce advocate for sustainable agriculture, criticizing industrial farming practices and highlighting the importance of caring for the earth. His writings celebrate the values of rural living and interconnected, self-sustaining communities. Berry often critiques consumerism, technological dependence, and the alienation of individuals from nature and one another. As a devout Christian, Berry’s work often explores moral and spiritual questions, urging readers to live responsibly and ethically, and as a farmer himself, he writes with intimate knowledge of the joys and challenges of working with the earth.
Wendell Berry remains a significant and influential figure in literature and environmental thought. His work speaks to the interconnectedness of humanity and the natural world, offering a powerful critique of industrialized modern life while providing a vision of harmony, responsibility, and hope.
2 comments:
Joe:
When I woke up at 5:30, I marveled about how good I feel. I went to the kitchen, turned on the teapot and looked at the calendar. Tuesday! The day for a poem from Joe. I hoped it would be a poem that resonated with me.
I took my steaming cup and sat in my comfortable chair with my laptop. First, I looked at the weather forecast. Then on to headlines in Washington Post (ugh). I kept my eye on the time. At 6:02, I went to your blog.
Wendell Berry! My hero! Much to my amazement, I got teary eyed even before I read the poem. It is so short and beautiful. It is just what I need today.
Wendell Berry’s writings shaped my career in sustainable agriculture and food security issues. In 2002, I drove all he way to Lexington, Kentucky to hear him read from his essays. I got to shake his hand. His books line my bookshelves.
Thank you for the poem Joe. You are a treasure. Happy New Year.
CharlesOfDurham
PS. Tell us more about Casey. What a sensitive guy.
This poem means so much to me. Thank you so much for sharing it on your blog, which also means so much to me.
I was raised on a family farm in Northwest Alabama. Before I was born, it had been a dairy farm. Pawpaw later transitioned it to a cattle, corn, and poultry farm, as it became increasingly difficult for family farmers to compete with multinational corporations who practiced industrial farming.
My mother spent most of her life as a literature teacher. So, I learned to love the land from Pawpaw and Daddy and literature from Mama. But Mama would not introduce me to Wendell Berry, and this particular poem, until I was an undergraduate at Mississippi State University and finding it difficult to decide if I wanted to pursue a career in agriculture or teaching. I would ultimately choose both: agriculture as a lifestyle and teaching as a career.
Wendell Berry's vision of agriculture and the land has shaped my life. My husband and I now live in Pawpaw and Mawmaw's original farmhouse, where we tend to our own subsistence farm, growing our own fruits and vegetables and raising our own chickens and a few heads of cattle. And we still help out on the family farm as needed.
My husband has also helped Pawpaw and Daddy reclaim 15 acres of wetlands and two ponds on our land, which together attract some of the most beautiful birds during migration. These responsibilities to the land are in addition to our day jobs as a teacher (me) and police officer (him).
As it turns out, Wendell was right: "When we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work."
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