Vox Populi
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James Crews: The Pond at Sunset
I forget I’ve already arrived
in the life I want, and that I am
still arriving at the same time.
Last night before sunset, I paced
the edge of the dock back and forth,
afraid to take the leap. But as the sun
broke through a rip in the clouds,
strobing across the rippled pond,
the word Trust flashed in my mind
and I jumped in. Past the worn-out
desire for a better this or that, past
the fear that if I let my guard down
and just feel joy, something might go
awry, things will fall apart. I cried out
with shock as I rose through colder
layers of water, gasping for air,
spluttering—happier than I’ve been
in weeks. The pond was my life,
and I knew I had to keep diving
deeper and deeper beneath the surface
to immerse myself in what’s already
here, and all that is to come.
~~~~
From Breathing Room, Simon and Schuster, 2026
James Crews is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, and on NPR’s Morning Edition. James is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry—The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment—and a book of short essays, Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection. James also speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion. He lives with his husband on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont.James Crews is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, and on NPR’s Morning Edition. James is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry—The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment—and a book of short essays, Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection. James also speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion. He lives with his husband on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont.
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Thank you. Sometimes despair wins but then, when I think “what can I do?” And think, “not much”, I realize not much is better than nothing.
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Every mornings work. Yes, trust life. That’s a powerful message, and so true. What else is there? Despite my pain looking out at the state of us all in this world, I am grateful to life that has given me so much.
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Yes, I feel much the same way, Rose Mary, a mix of gratitude and despair.
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What a gift, this poem. The trusting is no small thing.
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Oh, yes. Thank you, Rosemerry.
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“To immerse myself in what’s already here, and all that is to come.” This poem on this morning, in this world, is exactly what I needed.
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Reading a poem by James is like drinking fresh cool water.
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It really does take courage to live, to keep diving, to be able to find the words to carry these qualities into poetry and share them so others can find a place to rest, acknowledge their own courage, keep on diving, keep on writing.
Thank you James and thank you Michael
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Thank YOU, Noelle.
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I think how this comment of yours, along with James Crews’s poem, both teach us what is needed to best live our lives. Easy to say, courageous to do.
Staying in the present moment becomes fruitful. But the sharing is an important facet I need to work on more in daily situations. A solitary plunge needs to rise from the bottom to bring back a boon to the world or those we love. Joseph Campbell and Karl Jung made this point.
You and James convey so well how diving into the pond can send ripples of joy outward to readers. The lifting of spirits.
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