It was the Tuesday night of the election, our Board meeting had ended and I walked into the office of my friend, Aaron. We talked about the early returns and our thoughts on the candidates. Aaron shared with me this poem from Wendell Barry. It is:
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.
I have read it a half dozen times since then. I've reflected on it. It just really speaks to me. I hope you'll be moved by it as well. I provide the first and last stanza, but to honor copyright I've left off the middle three stanzas. The entire poem is found on the In Context website. Please visit that site.
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something . . .
Ask the questions that have no answers . . .
Put your faith in that two inches of humus . . .
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
Brian Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International




