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September 2, 1969 | Wendell Berry

A photo of leaves landing on water with a poem overlayed. The poem is titled "September 2, 1969" by Wendell Berry. "In the evening there were flocks of nighthawks / passing southward over the Valley. The tall / sunflowers stood, burning on their stalks / to cold seed, by the still river. And high / up the birds rose into sight against the darkening / clouds. They tossed themselves among the fading / landscapes of the sky like rags, as in / abandonment to the summons their blood knew. / And in my mind, where had stood a garden / straining to the light, there grew / an acceptance of decline. Having worked, / I would sleep, my leaves all dissolved in flight."

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This poem was included in IPM's September 2025 Newsletter.

Access the full Newsletter here.

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