"The
Answer," by Robinson Jeffers 1887-1962
"Then what
is the answer? -Not to be deluded by dreams.
To know that
great civilizations have broken down into violence,
and their tyrants
come, many times before.
When open violence
appears, to avoid it with honor or choose
the least ugly
faction; these evils are essential.
To keep one's
own integrity, be merciful and uncorrupted
and not wish
for evil; and not be duped
by dreams of
universal justice or happiness. These dreams will
not be fulfilled.
To know this,
and know that however ugly the parts appear
the whole remains
beautiful. A severed hand
Is an ugly thing,
and man dissevered from the earth and stars
and his history....
Often appears
atrociously ugly. Integrity is wholeness,
the greatest
beauty is
Organic wholeness,
the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty
of the universe.
Love that, not
man apart from that....."
LATE 2021, ROBINSON JEFFERS WORDS
ARE MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER
Robinson Jeffers, copyright 1938.
"The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers" was released
in 1938. Some historical context for this year in history: Orson
Wells staged his radio play "War of the Worlds," the
Stock Market recession reached a terrifying lowest point; Howard
Hughes won a big prize for flying around the world in 3 days,
19 hours; and The Wage and Hours Act was signed by President Roosevelt,
with the minimum wage raised to 40 cents an hour!
All quotations permission of
Stanford University Press, September 6, 2000.
Images taken Summer, 2000 in
old mining camps in Eastern Oregon, in the Ochocos Mountains.
Contact me: brucej@Oregonphotos.com
View/purchase the ten books by Bruce B. Johnson
Page last
reviewed APRIL 2022