. . . where life flows freely like a river

Using simple language to express complex ideas is a challenge authors have struggled with since men drew picturse on the walls of caves. I believe Jim Harrison is a master at such things. He would appreciate being compared to his prehistoric predecessors. At a reading in Portland, he was asked, "Why must you hunt?" Harrison's response was, "Perhaps I'm not as evolved as you."

I recently came across Harrison's poem, "Burning The Ditches," in a writing site to which I belong. I have used the last sentence of this prose poem in the past to introduce free verse poetry to fourth graders. It appeared in Harrison's collected works of poetry, The Shape of the Journey, as a poem called "Contentment."

The thought patterns, the mood, the language . . . precision, simplicity, honesty.