Ask Me - William Stafford

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt - ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

I'll leave the poem (by Wiliam Stafford) to be paraphrased by my followers because it should be interesting to find out how you personally relate to it...Misty should have a fair bit to say, with all your experiences, eh, or maybe Fadinha is younger but has learnt more of life. Or maybe Emek as English teacher would be able to add meaning to these lines.
Poetry is very deep and it is my favourite genre. So much is said in so few lines, and this poem is especially poignant although it is in free verse. Spontaneity and depth of thought conveys the philosophy which is actually very thinly disguised here.
Then I will say why I have chosen to write about `Ask Me' in my next post.