Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother Earth

The poetry of Mary Oliver sings of the beauty of our mother earth so perfectly, so I chose this poem to post on Mother's Day.  
Morning Poem

Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches ---
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it

the thorn
that is heavier than lead ---
if it's all you can do
to keep on trudging ---

there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted ---

each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,

whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.


from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver
© Mary Oliver
Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace. 

7 comments:

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

You have been missed.
Thank you for this poem
Mary Oliver is my favorite
Was not going on computer
today
pleased I did....

Marcie said...

Ernestine, Thank you for missing me! I'm sorry I am so absent. I am just not finding writing time these days! I'm so happy to find a note from you in response to my post. Mary Oliver is a favorite of mine also! I love the stanza about the pond of lilies being a prayer lavishly heard and answered, every morning. Just beautiful thoughts that we are so fortunate this writer has shared!

L'Adelaide said...

this is lovely...thank you and it's good to see you again. xoxox

Anonymous said...

Honestly, Mary Oliver is just so precious to me. I love so many of the lines you have shared here. Thank you for them, they mean a lot to me x

Pom Pom said...

Oh, I DO love Mary Oliver! She's so wise. Walking out and away from our homes into the world around us . . . I don't do it enough. I want to.

Nan said...

'whether or not you have ever dared to be happy.' Wow! That's a line I'll ponder for a while. Do we make that choice? I suspect we do. MO is always, always, always a revelation to me.

Marcie said...

Thank you, friends. I think we all have a strong response to Mary Oliver. Her words are stunning. They stop me in my tracks... and make me think. Thank you for sharing that experience with me! I love your comments!