Messenger
~by Mary Oliver
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Love the flower, love the poem! Thanks for sharing both of them.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved camellias and this is the first (and maybe the only) bloom on one of two of our shrubs. So thankful for the beauty in nature during these trying times.
DeleteSuch a lovely post; it brightens ann otherwise gloomy, rainy day here.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane. We've had a lot of gloomy, rainy weather here, too. Now the sun is out but it's cold!! 48 degrees. By the way, I commented on one of your posts, but it never showed up. I'll try again today.
DeleteI love that poem! I will have to check out more by Mary Oliver. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love Mary Oliver's poetry, Gretchen. I can understand what she is trying to convey to her readers and I find myself nodding my head in agreement. Such a shame she is no longer with us. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I've just discovered your blog and will spend some time this afternoon reading some of your recent posts.
DeleteOne of my favorite Mary Oliver poems...of so many favorites. Her words always go straight to my heart. And your camellia is lovely. Ours are finished blooming here in north Florida, we're well on our way to summer!
ReplyDeleteLaurel, she has quickly become my all-time favorite poet. I also enjoy Ted Kooser's works (met him when we were living in Lincoln, Nebraska), but Oliver's speak to me just a tad bit more. I have a feeling our single camellia is finished as of today. We have had heavy downpours with several occurrences of hail both yesterday and today. I'm thankful that I got outside to get a picture of the blossom!
DeleteBeautiful poem. Beautiful photo of a beautiful flower. Thank you so much for sharing these today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. I love Mary Oliver's poetry. And, I love camellias, but wish this bush would produce more blooms. I am thankful, though, that it gave us one this year.
DeleteWhat a beautiful flower and of course you can't go wrong with Mary Oliver's poetry! Thank you for sharing this. I hope you guys are doing well through all this craziness.
ReplyDeleteIliana, isn't the camellia lovely?! As is Mary Oliver's poetry, which I love. Glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteLoving poetry right now!
ReplyDeleteI have more to share, Lisa. Glad you're enjoy it.
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