Poetry Sunday: When Death Comes by Mary Oliver

We lost Mary Oliver last week. She died at the age of 83. She was a prize-winning poet who wrote of the natural world, and she was one of the most popular of modern poets. Her poetry is very accessible and that is not a bad thing. 

 This is actually one of her most famous poems and it could serve as a summation of her life. At the end of that life she could well and truly say that she did not "end up simply having visited this world."

When Death Comes
by Mary Oliver
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom; taking the world into my arms.
When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

Comments

  1. Judy KruegerJanuary 20, 2019 at 12:16 PM

    I was introduced to Mary Oliver by the sister of my daughter-in-law. In fact,it was her collection A Thousand Mornings that brought me back to reading poetry. I prefer to think of my death this way. In which collection can this poem be found? Thank you for posting it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 20, 2019 at 2:22 PM

      I believe it is from the book that is simply titled New and Selected Poems, but I don't own it and I'm not absolutely certain. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

      Delete
    2. Judy KruegerJanuary 21, 2019 at 11:53 AM

      Thanks. I just decided to print out a copy from your blog for myself. It is not that I spend a lot of time thinking about dying, except when someone I know or know of dies. But I know it is coming and her words are wise and helpful.

      Delete
    3. Dorothy BordersJanuary 21, 2019 at 12:01 PM

      Words to live - and die - by.

      Delete
  2. CarmenJanuary 20, 2019 at 2:44 PM

    How lovely! I like the first two verses:
    "When death comes
    like the hungry bear in autumn..."

    Now that's a powerful literary image! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 20, 2019 at 10:41 PM

      She was known for providing powerful images from Nature in her poems.

      Delete
  3. Jeri RogersJanuary 22, 2019 at 1:09 PM

    I would like to reprint this lovely poem in my literary and art journal, Artemis Journal, which is a non-profit small press. Do I need permission from her estate? I would also like to dedicate the journal to her.
    Thank you for your advice,
    Jeri Rogers
    Editor and founder
    Artemis Journal
    www.artemisjournal.org

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 22, 2019 at 2:35 PM

      Her poems are under copyright. In fact, I'm probably erring by quoting her here, although I'm in good company with many sites online within the past week. Her passing is a great loss to the world of poetry. You might consult the Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-oliver. Perhaps you can find the answer to your questions there.

      Incidentally, thanks for bringing your journal to my attention.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try.
Read more