The Palm at the End of the Mind

Vanderleun at American Digest has an interesting meditation on Advent and earns bonus points for quoting from this poem.

The Palm at the End of the Mind

The palm at the end of the mind
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze décor,

A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.

You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.

The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird’s fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

-- Wallace Stevens

Thanks for that.