Gravity is the root of lightness;
calm is the master of excitement.
Thereby do exemplary people travel all day
without leaving their equipment.
Though they have a look of prosperity,
their resting place is transcendent.
What can be done about heads of state
who take the world lightly in their own self-interest?
Lack of gravity loses servants of state;
instability loses heads of state.

– Thomas Cleary

 

Heavy is the root of light
still is the master of restless
thus a lord might travel all day
but never far from his supplies
even in a guarded camp
his manner is calm and aloof
why would the lord of ten thousand chariots
treat himself lighter than his kingdom
too light he loses his base
too restless he loses his command

– Red Pine

 

As weight anchors lightness
And calm governs impulse,
The wise leader, all day on the march,
Stays by his stockage train
Within his guarded cordon,
Safely positioned, beyond harm’s reach.
Could the lord of ten thousand wagons of war
Risk his own self for the sake of the world?
Let such lightness lose him his anchoring base?
Such impulse his rule?

– Moss Roberts


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#210: Memories & Legends of William Shakespeare Human Voices Wake Us

An episode from 12/28/25: What was it like to know Shakespeare, to stand in the theater and watch one of his plays, to be a neighbor who knew him as a teenager? What was it like to pass through London as a student or visitor or diplomat, and note in passing that you saw Shakespeare’s plays, or read one of his poems? So much of Shakespeare’s life is lost to us, but over the centuries his biographers have gathered the memories and rumors and legends that grew up around him, and tonight I read a few of them. They comes from Peter Ackroyd’s ⁠Shakespeare: The Biography⁠, which is easily the best book about Shakespeare and creativity that I’ve ever read.The best way to support the podcast is by leaving a review on Apple or Spotify, sharing it with others, or sending me a note on what you think. You can also order any of my books: ⁠Time and the River: From Columbine to the Invention of Fire⁠, due out next year, is now available for preorder. Other books include ⁠Notes from the Grid⁠, ⁠To the House of the Sun⁠, ⁠The Lonely Young & the Lonely Old⁠, and ⁠Bone Antler Stone⁠. I've also edited a handful of books in the ⁠S4N Pocket Poems⁠ series.Email me at ⁠humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com⁠.
  1. #210: Memories & Legends of William Shakespeare
  2. #209 – Being a Jew in 1900, Being a Jew Now
  3. #208: Bach & God
  4. #207 – Death, the Gods, and Endless Life in Ancient Egypt
  5. #206 – The Discovery of Indo-European Languages – 1876
  6. #205: Learning to Read, c. 2000 BCE
  7. #204: Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," 1856
  8. #203: Bruce Springsteen Talks About "Nebraska" – 1984
  9. #202 – A Death at Sea, 1834
  10. #201 – Gillian Anderson, & What Women Want, 2024

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