OT:WILLIAM BLAKE poem, Alan Alda, on "ER"

[Cairo32nile]

I hope someone else saw the re-run of "ER" on Thursday, Mar. 30, where Alan
Alda was playing a doctor who had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He
movingly recited a poem, then said, "How strange that I can remember a William
Blake poem that I learned 20 years ago, but I can't remember the man with the
sprained ankle this afternoonl"
I can't find it in my poetry books. I can't find an e-mail address for Alan
Alda.
And I sent e-mails to NBC and "ER", and they bounced right back with a canned
message.
It was something about walking by a stream, I think, and there was the word
"mandrake" and "dark heron".
Would so appreciate any help.
OB:FOOD ---Hospital food is dreadful

[gramma]

Here is one place to try:

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/authors/blake.html#poems

gramma

[Zaphod & Trillian]

If you find the reference, I shall be interested. I have the
complete poetry of William Blake in a single volume, so I looked
through it last night when I saw your post and found nothing
resembling what you describe. Please post if you find it! :-)

[Nancree]

Here it is. "Cairo" posted it earlier. Apparently, although Alan Alda's
character said it was Wm. Blake, it was not. Perhaps a token of his
Alzheimer's , or perhaps a mistake.
(I also looked through my book of complete Wm. Blake, and nothing even
seemed similar)
It is by Wendell Berry. And quite special, I think.
-------------------------
THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS
by Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

[Foxy Lady]

Greetings!!!

In my search I found this page with a poem that mentions
"mandrake"
No luck searching for "dark heron"...
If the following link doesn't work, try the next one and do
the search
there...
You never know how framed websites act so you just might
have to go
to the main page to start the search.
I hope this helps.

FL

http://dazzle.village.virginia.edu:1965/dynaweb/erdman/erd/@
Generic__BookView?DwebQuery=mandrake&x=10&y=13

http://dazzle.village.virginia.edu:1965/

Zaphod & Trillian <he...@gold.net> wrote in message
news:38EAB5...@gold.net...

[Zaphod & Trillian]

Thanks for posting it. It is special.

[nancyri...@gmail.com]

I saw this episode recently. I know that poem: Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things.”

A silly error if the writers are responsible. It would have been interesting, since the initials are the same, for him to have confused the names. But that means Weaver should have caught it. Unlikely.