That I
may have spoken well
at times, is not natural.
A wonder is what it is.
– Wendell Berry (“A Warning To My Readers”)
Those who work beside me hear
the gerunds and gerundives mesh
with coarser nouns and verbs
that flourish on unlevel landscapes
among the animals and birds,
or whispered under breath
in politer conversation
like adding grain to polished wood—
profane accents and accidents
straining to leap from my tongue.
drycrikjournal 
I have found that the easiest way by far to keep from offending people with my language is to restrict my company to people who are not easily offended.
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You’re on the right track, Caleb, but it is profiling, you know, and restricts us to a small circle of outdoor, hands-on types.
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I smile at the profane accidents straining to leap from your tongue 🙂
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Good. It is a test, occasionally, trying to keep a lid on my enthusiasm. I found Berry’s poem intriguing, his poetry known for gentleness and grace, he owns his translation from anger and coarser emotions. It is a welcome challenge to shape it into rhythm and assonance, and, of course, the humor we all experience if we can laugh a little at ourselves.
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Sometimes we just have to let er rip! Yes, and own it.
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“unlevel landscapes among the animals and birds”, seems such an appropriate place for them to originate before hitting the page.
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Robert Haas once accused me of liking to rough-up my poetic line. Perhaps it’s more the basic whole of what I see.
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and who you are. Makes you, you.
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