Those who know do not say;
those who say do not know.
Close the senses,
shut the doors;
blunt the sharpness,
resolve the complications;
harmonize the light,
assimilate to the world.
This is called mysterious sameness.
It cannot be made familiar,
yet cannot be estranged;
it cannot be profited,
yet cannot be harmed;
it cannot be valued,
yet cannot be demeaned.
Therefore it is precious for the world.

– Thomas Cleary

 

Those who know don’t talk
those who talk don’t know
seal the opening
close the gate
dull the edge
untie the tangle
soften the light
and join the dust
this is called the Dark Union
it can’t be embraced
it can’t be abandoned
it can’t be helped
it can’t be harmed
it can’t be exalted
it can’t be debased
thus does the world exalt in it

– Red Pine

 

Those who know it do not say it;
Those who say it do not know it.

Those who know bar interaction,
Shut and seal the gates and doors;
They dull their keen edge and
Resolve their differences,
Reconcile the points of view
And blend with the lowly dust.
This we call sublime at-oneness.

Favor affects them not,
Nor disfavor,
Neither advantage
Nor injury,
Neither honor
Nor dishonor.
Thus those who know are honored in the world.

– Moss Roberts


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#220: The working poor and a so-so murder show Human Voices Wake Us

An episode from 3/9/26: Tonight, I read from Barbara Ehrenreich’s 2001 book Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. After that, I talk about the recent TV show The Killing, as a way in to talking about our obsession and desire for criticism, objectivity, and certainty. Isn’t privacy and the subjective more fruitful? Both parts of this episode are related to essays in my book Notes from the Grid.What is your equivalent of these passages? Email me or send an audio file to humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com, and I may use it in an upcoming episode.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, 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. I also have a YouTube channel where I share poems and excerpts from these books, mostly as YouTube shorts. Email me at humanvoiceswakeus1@gmail.com.
  1. #220: The working poor and a so-so murder show
  2. #219: When a paragraph changes your life
  3. #218: Poetry to Live By
  4. #217: Voices from 1900-1914
  5. #216: Poets, Prophets, Seeresses & Goddesses from Time & the River
  6. #215: 8 Favorite Poems from "Time and the River"
  7. #214: Two of the Best Poems You've Never Heard of (by William Cullen Bryant)
  8. #213: Van Gogh's Early Years
  9. #212: The Most Popular Story in Ancient India
  10. #211: Who Was William Cullen Bryant?

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