"The Avowal," by Denise Levertov

For Carolyn Kizer and John Woodbridge,
Recalling Our Celebration
of George Herbert’s Birthday, 1983

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

+ Denise Levertov

As the great hawk migrations of the fall approach, and the last days of summer swimming arrive, Levertov lays out what we can learn: the daring trust of the swimmer, borne up by the unseen below; and the sweeping poise of a hawk, carving a slow circle in the sky, riding the unseen currents above.

And most of all, the palpable sense that while effort has its place, our efforts do not earn God’s love and care, any more than a swimmer earns the water, or a hawk earns the air. Such all-surrounding blessing comes to us as a sheer gift, magnificent and free. That’s why we call it, “grace.”