Artist

Alexander Averin

Sunday 2 February 2014

There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves




I stumbled upon a poet today by the name of James Kavanaugh. I was searching for a quotation to post with some woodland photos and was sidetracked.  My path through the forests took me to this man.  I was captured by his words.  Sadly he died in 2009, aged 81.

After the pics, I have shared a piece of his prose and a poem.





















I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know - unless it be to share our laughter.

We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.

For wanderers, dreamers, and lovers, for lonely men and women who dare to ask of life everything good and beautiful. It is for those who are too gentle to live among wolves.

 James Kavanaugh


And here the poem:

There are Men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves


There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men too gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world,
Unless they have a gentle one to love.



James Kavanaugh













13 comments:

Teresa Evangeline said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Teresa Evangeline said...

simply beautiful, Cait ... thank you ...

Rian said...

Cait, I like this poem. It reminds me of a letter I wrote my brother (deceased now) years ago telling him that I thought the world was too loud... too harsh, and that it constantly assaulted my senses. He laughed... (but I'm not sure he didn't feel the same).

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Speaks to my heart so clearly.
xo

Mac n' Janet said...

So true! The world tries to chew us up and spit us out to fit into some mold they've made. I've ever been a rebel, terrible at group activities and questioning everything. Hope you post more of his poems.

Pondside said...

I am blessed to know one or two.

Rob-bear said...

Utterly beautiful thoughts, Cait! Living among wolves is not a happy place.

Living among Bears is so much more fun.

Blessings an Bear hugs!

Friko said...

Yes, Kavanaugh was a poet worth discovering.
His prose is as lyrical as his poetry.

Reading Tea Leaves said...

Thank you for sharing this Cait. The poet is a gentle soul who doubtless speaks for many of us. Poetry is a great medium for soul-searching and melancholy.

Kavanaugh is a great find.

ds said...

Thank you for sharing this, Cait. Beautiful...

Susan Anderson said...

Wonderful, both the prose and the poetry.

Interestingly, my husband is one of those gentle ones but was also a corporate executive. It was a difficult mix, and he struggled with maintaining balance and getting his needs met. That is much easier for him now that he has retired!

martine said...

Thanks for sharing that, it is beautiful

Catherine said...

I was just thinking about something like this today and then was drawn back here to your work by your lovely comment. I want to share this and will thank you from my heart for finding it and sharing it with us today......love Catherine