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.
~ Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver’s poetry, with her lyrical connection to the natural world, has firmly established her in the highest realm of American poets. She is renowned for her evocative and precise imagery, which brings nature into clear focus, transforming the everyday world into a place of magic and discovery. Her recent books include Owls and Other Fantasies, Why I Wake Early, and New and Selected Poems, Volume Two. As poet Stanley Kunitz has said, “Mary Oliver’s poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing.” Oliver lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Amazon’s Mary Oliver Page
http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Oliver/e/B000APELGO/ref=sr_tc_2_0
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
That was beautiful! I’m off to check out her Amazon.com page now!
Hi Jill…This poem has always touched my heart. Mary Oliver is an inspiring woman and it sounds like she has lifted your spirits also.
Hi Dr. Annette,
Yes she definitely has! I’ve bookmarked each of her books to use the “search inside!” feature on later
P.S. I love your blog and look forward to reading each post.
Hi Jill,
We’re so glad to have you and your thoughts with us on this Divine Self! blog. Thank you.
Have you ever read The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer? It’s beautiful also…
THE INVITATION
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
And if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
For your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
If you have been opened by life’s betrayals or
Have become shriveled and closed from fear or further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own;
If you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you
To the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be
Careful, Be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you’re telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own Soul.
I want to know if you can see beauty
Even when it is not pretty every day,
And if you can source your life from god’s presence
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
And still stand on the edge of a lake
And shout to the silver of the full moon, yes!
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live
Or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and Despair,
Weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the Children.
It doesn’t interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
And not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside
When all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
And if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder
Hi Dr. Annette,
You are very welcome. I enjoy being here and sharing my thoughts. I love reading others’ responses to the blog posting as well. Thank you for posting “The Invitation” as well. I had never heard of it or the elder who wrote it, it felt like they were talking directly to me.
All the best,
Jill
Exquisite imagery! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your beauty once again!