{"id":8053,"date":"2022-03-11T07:51:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T14:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=8053"},"modified":"2022-03-11T07:54:07","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T14:54:07","slug":"william-stafford-at-the-un-national-monument-along-the-canadian-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/11\/william-stafford-at-the-un-national-monument-along-the-canadian-border\/","title":{"rendered":"William Stafford – At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border
\nby William Stafford<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the field where the battle did not happen,
\nwhere the unknown soldier did not die.
\nThis is the field where grass joined hands,
\nwhere no monument stands,
\nand the only heroic thing is the sky.<\/p>\n

Birds fly here without any sound,
\nunfolding their wings across the open.
\nNo people killed \u2014 or were killed \u2014 on this ground
\nhallowed by neglect and an air so tame
\nthat people celebrate it by forgetting its name.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from The Way It Is: New & Selected Poems<\/a>, by William Stafford<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Jeff King<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

In the midst of the world\u2019s travails, a moment of calm, a monument to the non-event, the non-war\u2026<\/p>\n

Read this poem aloud so you don\u2019t miss its delightful rhyme:
\n
\nwhere the unknown soldier did not die\u2026
\nand the only heroic thing is the sky.<\/p>\n

This is the field where grass joined hands,
\nwhere no monument stands,<\/p>\n

Birds fly here without any sound\u2026
\nNo people killed \u2014 or were killed \u2014 on this ground
\n<\/i>
\nI especially love the closing couplet:
\n
\nhallowed by neglect and an air so tame
\nthat people celebrate it by forgetting its name.<\/i><\/p>\n

Be well. Remember that, despite the news, despite the many uncertainties, that the living world still awaits outside your door. Step out into it. Say hello to the people you meet\u2026 and the happily neglected fields with their heroic skies. Have a beautiful day.<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: William Stafford<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Way It Is: New & Selected Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nMy Name is William Tell<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nEven in Quiet Places<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nDancing with Joy: 99 Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"William<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nWilliam Stafford<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

US (1914 \u2013 1993) Timeline<\/a>
\nSecular or Eclectic<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

More poetry by William Stafford<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the Un-National Monument along the Canadian Border by William Stafford This is the field where the battle did not happen, where the unknown soldier did not die. This is the field where grass joined hands, where no monument stands, and the only heroic thing is the sky. Birds fly here without any sound, unfolding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2194,2460,1545,2461,2459,2018],"class_list":["post-8053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-monument","tag-neglect","tag-quiet","tag-serene","tag-war","tag-william-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8053"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8056,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8053\/revisions\/8056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}