The Leaving" My father said I could not do it, but all…
““The Leaving" My father said I could not do it, but all night I picked the peaches. The orchard was still, the canals ran steadily. I was a girl then, my chest its own walled garden. How many ladders to gather an orchard? I had only one and a long patience with lit hands and the looking of the stars which moved right through me the way the water moved through the canals with a voice that seemed to speak of this moonless gathering and those who had gathered before me. I put the peaches in the pond’s cold water, all night up the ladder and down, all night my hands twisting fruit as if I were entering a thousand doors, all night my back a straight road to the sky. And then out of its own goodness, out of the far fields of the stars, the morning came, and inside me was the stillness a bell possesses just after it has been rung, before the metal begins to long again for the clapper’s stroke. The light came over the orchard. The canals were silver and then were not. and the pond was–I could see as I laid the last peach in the water–full of fish and eyes.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Through patient, solitary labor, the narrator transforms a night of work into a timeless, meditative experience.
In simple terms: Hard work can become a peaceful, reflective ritual.
Key Takeaway
Find stillness in diligent work.
Themes
patience
labor
nature
solitude
ritual
Mood
tranquil
reflective
poetic
Type
Cold water:1
Long patience:1
Parenting:1
Peace:1
Came Orchard:1
Gathered Peaches:1
Picked Peaches:1
Gather Orchard:1
Laid Peach:1
When to use this quote
- night shift
- gardening
- craftsmanship
Key Concepts
mindfulness
ritualistic work
spirituality
Questions to Reflect On
- How does patience change your perception of work?
- What rituals bring you calm?
A Different Perspective
The poem’s imagery may be too abstract for some readers.