Poem submitted by Christine Stockwell.
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I don’t know where or when I first came across Merton’s poem, but it filled my mind with photographic visions of plants glowing in the evening light. I filed the poem with inspiring quotes for my photography practice. I have forgotten all about it numerous times, but whenever I see it again I say, “Wow! How could I have forgotten this poem?”
“Raids on the Unspeakable” by Thomas Merton (1966)
Every plant that stands in the light of the sun is a saint and an outlaw.
Every tree that brings forth blossoms without the command of man
is powerful in the sight of God. Every star that man has not counted
is a world of sanity and perfection. Every blade of grass
is an angel singing in a shower of glory.