Poetry Sunday: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Autumn crept over the windowsill on Wednesday last week. It brought with it some actual autumn-like weather - bright cool days with temperatures that never went above the 80s. It is a welcome respite from the heat of summer. It probably won't last. We'll likely have some summer days again before autumn sets in for good. But this time of year always brings to mind one of my very favorite poems because soon the wild geese will be winging this way, ready to settle down on our prairies and wetlands to spend their winter.  I know I've featured it here before but you can't have too much of a good thing and this poem is a very good thing.

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.

Comments

  1. David M. Gascoigne,September 26, 2021 at 5:59 AM

    When they build a shrine to Mary Oliver I am going to go there and worship! You have done this before, Dorothy, and I encourage you to do it again. You are quite right, you can't have enough of a good thing, and it really doesn't get any better than this. It won't be long before the first geese that have bred around James Bay are winging their way south, calling in the most wonderful, evocative way.When I see and hear my first flock I will think of you and Mary Oliver. After a whole life immersed in nature, the migration of the geese is still one of the most moving experiences of all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 26, 2021 at 8:35 AM

      I always love the image of the world offering itself to our imaginations and, through the calls of the wild geese, announcing our place in the family of things. It's good to remind ourselves that we are a part of Earth's family. We are all related. This poem always reminds me of that.

      Delete
  2. mudpuddleSeptember 26, 2021 at 10:36 AM

    haha, a perfect answer to hiding in the bushes! i look (hear) forward every year to the sounds made by a flock passing overhead...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 26, 2021 at 10:45 AM

      It's such an evocative sound - something I always look forward to.

      Delete
  3. Lark September 26, 2021 at 1:07 PM

    She writes such amazing poems! I need to check out some of her books of poetry. Thanks for sharing this one. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 26, 2021 at 1:13 PM

      Her poetry so often references Nature and I love that about it. She wrote about our place in Nature, something that we often ignore.

      Delete
  4. The Butterfly ReaderSeptember 26, 2021 at 2:11 PM

    I love this poem and will never tire of it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AlanaSeptember 26, 2021 at 2:23 PM

    I was not big into poetry until I started to read some of your Sunday posts. I love Mary Oliver more and more; I can't get through her poem "When Death Comes" without crying; it makes me so emotional. And I don't care if a poem is a repeat!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 26, 2021 at 6:18 PM

      "When Death Comes" is a favorite of mine and I confess my reaction is much the same as yours. It is a very emotional poem.

      Delete
  6. thecuecardSeptember 26, 2021 at 4:14 PM

    Seems optimistic & befriending!

    ReplyDelete
  7. R's RueSeptember 27, 2021 at 8:19 AM

    So wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Happy Monday.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 27, 2021 at 8:39 AM

      It's my pleasure to share poetry here, especially that of Mary Oliver, a personal favorite.

      Delete
  8. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 27, 2021 at 11:38 AM

    This is a poem I could read every day. It speaks to both the sadnesses of life and its consolations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. SimranMarch 21, 2024 at 5:49 AM

    I love her poems the we she makes me picture nature and human human emotions through it is pure joy. 💖

    ReplyDelete

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