I’ve recently woken up to the poetry of Mary Oliver. I don’t know why I haven’t really discovered her till now; it wasn’t for lack of the universe whispering her name in my ear! Here are two of her poems that I love.
The Journey by Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Reblogged this on Loving Me, Too and commented:
I’d seen the second poem in the first edition of a collection called “Earth Prayers.” But the first one is new to me and right on time!
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Two of my favorites!
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As we get older, we realize that the voice we need to listen to lies within.
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So true! Thanks for stopping by.
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Two of my favorites, also–and “Wild Geese” inspired me to choreograph a dance piece. Thank you for reminding me of these radiant and resounding words…..
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Beautiful! 🙂
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Reblogged this on Teacher as Transformer and commented:
I can not pass on Mary Oliver poetry even when I posted Wild Geese recently. I have not posted The Journey. We each reach those times when we do not follow the directions we are given by others and live life for what it is to be lived for. We can only live it for one purpose and that is our life.
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