“Living”

What I love about this poem by Denise Levertov is the balm it offers – a cool, wet salamander held out in an open palm and then nothing. I read this poem a lot, often finding my way to it when life feels too heavy and too hard. The poem reminds me that the passage of time is certain and maybe the only thing that really is. This day will pass, and the next, and the one after that. I find that very comforting: to know that things will end, especially when things are too heavy and too hard. Of course, good things end, too. Summer will end. Summer is always ending. I think that’s okay. This poem isn’t about holding on to anything – it’s about simply letting each day be the day that it is, each moment its own moment and then gone. The salamander will crawl from your hand (if you let it – you should let it). Each minute is the last minute. That’s living.

Read the poem here and read more about Denise Levertov here.