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Being a Person
by William Stafford

Be a person here.
Stand by the river, invoke
the owls. Invoke winter, then spring.
Let any season that wants to
come here make its own call.
After that sound goes away, wait.
A slow bubble rises
through the earth
and begins to include sky, stars,
all space, even the outracing,
expanding thought. Come back
and hear the little sound again.
Suddenly this dream you are having
matches everyone’s dream,
and the result is the world.
If a different call came
there wouldn’t be any world, or you,
or the river, or the owls calling.
How you stand here is important.
How you listen for the next things
to happen. How you breathe.

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