I recently saw a rerun of an ER episode where Alan Alda was playing the part of a doctor who was in early onset of Alzheimer's disease. He recited a poem he had learned as a young boy, and I believe he said it was a William Blake poem, however, I cannot find anything that matches the words he recited. All I remember is that it had something to do with animals and how the animals didn't get caught up in the pettiness of life...Etc...... anyway, if anyone knows what I'm talking about or better yet remembers the episode, could you e-mail me with the title of the poem, William Blake or not? Thank you so much.

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"THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS"
by Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Walt Whitman's 'I think I could turn and live with animals ' is on a similar theme.

"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole world."

Thank you so much for your response. What a wonderful website. It is sites like this that remind me that new technology can be a good thing. Your suggestion about Walt Whitman's poem was very close in theme indeed, but "Glenda" also responded (you can see her reply to my inquiry on the General Discussion site) and had the poem that I was searching for. It is entitled "The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry. This was indeed the same poem read on the episode of ER. Thank you so much for your response also, as I love the piece you replied with also.
Most Sincerely,
Peter C. Smith

Glenda,
Thank you so much. You have helped me more than I could ever explain. Why I had William Blake in my head I can only guess. (maybe due to the same initials of the authors?) This poem truly speaks to me, and I am glad there are websites with people like you who are willing to share their knowledge and love of the art of poetry. Thank you so much!
Ever Thankful,
Peter C. Smith

Peter,

You are very welcome. I posted this same poem for someone a few weeks back and gave the author as Blake. Fortunately, someone corrected it for me. Why don't you stick around at this site? There are lots of nice people here.

This is for Peter. I just saw the episode of ER you mentioned and also fell in love with the poem. The reason you thought he said William Blake was because he did!! I have been searching for it all morning on all of William Blake's web sites. How remarkable I was able to find this site and the true author. How could they make such a mistake??? Anyway..thank you all. It is a beautiful poem.

As an aside, there was a Department Store on Long Island in the 60's called Billy Blakes

Tracy, regarding this statement:

>How could they make such a mistake???

I could be snide and say: "It's sloppy research."
But more likely, it's just that they're human and missed one.

On a tangent to this many of us would like to forget Blake entirely.


Les

Not me, but that's just me !

It could also be that since the character has Alzheimer's, he's making a mistake.

pam