April is National Poetry Month: Good Advice from William Stafford

William Stafford composed this poem twenty-six days before he died. I have read and reread many poems by William Stafford, but I don't recall this one. Now I am thinking to myself, " What is my thread?" When I come up with an answer, it will be another blog post. Enjoy these words.


The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

By William Stafford, from The Way It Is, 1998