Poetry Friday posts are with Matt at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme.
There are times when a poem passes your way, like a butterfly on the rose bush or the tree frog on the window glass. It comes and hovers a minute with the sole purpose of reminding you that God is real and present.
I felt this lighting when I opened Jane Kenyon’s A Hundred White Daffodils and found “Let Evening Come.” With all the natural disasters in our midst, we need this reminder.
Let Evening Come
BY JANE KENYONLet the light of late afternoonshine through chinks in the barn, movingup the bales as the sun moves down.Let the cricket take up chafingas a woman takes up her needlesand her yarn. Let evening come.Let dew collect on the hoe abandonedin long grass. Let the stars appearand the moon disclose her silver horn.Let the fox go back to its sandy den.Let the wind die down. Let the shedgo black inside. Let evening come.To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoopin the oats, to air in the lunglet evening come.Let it come, as it will, and don’tbe afraid. God does not leave uscomfortless, so let evening come.Jane Kenyon, “Let Evening Come” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 2005 by the Estate of Jane Kenyon. Reprinted with the permission of Graywolf Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org.
Bayou Sunset: Let evening come…
Reflections on the Teche 
One of my favorite Kenyon poems…thanks for sharing!
[…] Reflections on the Teche, Margaret is also sharing a Kenyon poem – one of my […]
More Kenyon! Yay! I do confess, once, in a mood, I wrote a poem after this one called “Don’t Let Evening Come.” I think i am more of a rage rage against the dying of the light kind of gal…. acceptance comes more easily to some than others. xo
It is a comforting poem, and good to read after the darkness of Ruth’s poem by Jane Kenyon. I think after this weekend, we might need an “evening” without more sad news. Hope you are okay, but see by the maps that this Irma won’t be very near you.
This is such a comforting poem–and such a treat to read two poems by Kenyon today. Let the peace in the poem seep into us all through these climatic days.
I love Irene’s response above!
This is such a lovely, lovely piece and it reads like evening falling softy. We do need some soothing these days. And, it fits the bill precisely. I’ve been using PF for sharing my poems so much….I really do enjoy a better balance between known poems and newly written ones. I need to go pick up some poetry and just enjoy it for sharing next week.
Isn’t it lovely when minds think alike – another Kenyon (I just visited Ruth’s page). Whenever it all seems to much, I like to just disconnect for a moment and immerse myself in some poetry.
This is such a nice calm poem. Thanks! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Such a lovely poem, one of my favourites. I’ve been thinking of writing a golden shovel, and was musing on using lines from this one… and here I have it delivered to me via Poetry Friday so I don’t have to hunting. Thanks! We’ll see what comes of my thought.
A golden shovel is a lovely idea. I look forward to reading it.
I was startled by Irene’s response. I used to see myself as a rage, rage against the dying of the light kind of person. And lookie there…I’m not anymore. Kenyon’s poem speaks deep truth to me…
I like this refrain, “so let evening come.” It helps to wind us down and quiet all the din.” I do enjoy the quiet and darkness of the night, it often feels like a warm blanket wrapping around you. Thanks for sharing this poem with us Margaret– good timing.
Thank you, Margaret, for sharing this beautiful poem and your connections to it.
A favorite poem. So peaceful and accepting.
Margaret, there is such peace in this post, but especially in this line: God does not leave us comfortless, so let evening come. Your photo let’s peace surround me.
This is one of my favorites…