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Song of a Man Who Has Come Through by D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930) Timeline Original Language English Secular or Eclectic 20th Century Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time. If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me! If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a winged gift! If only, most lovely of all, I yield myself and am borrowed By the fine, fine, wind that takes its course through the chaos of the world Like a fine, an exquisite chisel, a wedge-blade inserted; If only I am keen and hard like the sheer tip of a wedge Driven by invisible blows, The rock will split, we shall come at the wonder, we shall find the Hesperides. Oh, for the wonder that bubbles into my soul, I would be a good fountain, a good well-head, Would blur no whisper, spoil no expression. What is the knocking? What is the knocking at the door in the night? It is somebody wants to do us harm. No, no, it is the three strange angels. Admit them, admit them.     -- from The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence, by D. H. Lawrence Amazon.com   / Photo by AleBonvini /	Themes   Night   Water       Recommended Books Acts of Attention: The Poems of D. H. Lawrence, by D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts and Flowers: Poems, by D. H. Lawrence The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence, by D. H. Lawrence Engendering Inspiration: Visionary Strategies in Rilke, Lawrence, and H.D., by Helen Sword The Selected Poems of D. H. Lawrence, by D. H. Lawrence More >>
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

I won't say much. It's a quiet Monday morning, a time for few words and just a taste of wonder...

Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me!

I love this opening line. Have you ever noticed how wearying personal will is? Eventually everything feels like a dead effort. But when we learn the magician's trick of yielding, of letting the currents of life flow through us, delight pours through us with such surprising ease and actions form into unexpected success.

Oh, for the wonder that bubbles into my soul,
I would be a good fountain, a good well-head,
Would blur no whisper, spoil no expression.

What is the reference to the Hesperides and the "three strange angels?"

The Hesperides are three nymphs who tend a sacred garden at the edge of the world in the West. Their garden has a tree that produces magical golden apples of immortality. The three nymphs are usually associated with night, the mystery and magic of night. They embody all that the imagination envisions at the precipice of existence, the edge of the world, the edge of the night, the edge of life and death. It would take a heroic journey just to reach their garden, but it might open us to wonders.

The chisel image might seem abrupt and rather brittle. Lawrence could be representing the cutting intellect, or more broadly it could represent discernment. It could represent the necessity of separating the essential from the non-essential. Or we could see it as representing the fierce will needed to become enough of an individual to make such a journey.

And if you hear someone knocking, don't fear harm. Peep through the keyhole. It might just be three strangers in angel shape... and bearing a golden apple.

Admit them, admit them.

Carried by the course of the wind, we find we have come through...

Have a beautiful day!

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.