By Wendell Berry

If you are not to become a monster,
you must care what they think.
If you care what they think,

how will you not hate them,
and so become a monster
of the opposite kind? From where then

is love to come—love for your enemy
that is the way of liberty?
From forgiveness. Forgiven, they go

free of you, and you of them;
they are to you as sunlight
on a green branch. You must not

think of them again, except
as monsters like yourself,
pitiable because unforgiving.

• Relationships

Poet Bio

Poet, novelist, and environmentalist, Wendell Berry lives on a farm in Port Royal, Kentucky near his birthplace. Mistrustful of technology, he holds deep reverence for the land and is a staunch defender of agrarian values. His poetry celebrates the holiness of life and everyday miracles often taken for granted. See More By This Poet

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