If I Were
There are lots of ways to dance and
to spin, sometimes it just starts my
feet first then my entire body, I am
spinning no one can see it but it is
happening. I am so glad to be alive,
I am so glad to be loving and loved.
Even if I were close to the finish,
even if I were at my final breath, I
would be here to take a stand, bereft
of such astonishments, but for them.
If I were a Sufi for sure I would be
one of the spinning kind.
~Mary Oliver
:) The poem and the photo are such a great match. It is so hard to explain the exhilaration of dancing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenclair. The moment I read Mary Oliver's poem, I knew exactly which of my photos I'd like to use. The little girl is my daughter when she was probably in first grade. She loved to twirl in her dresses! :)
DeleteI suspected that picture was of 'your girl'. Precious! Perfect with the poem.
ReplyDeleteYou would be correct, Kay! :)
DeleteSo nice to see you here!
xoxo
Wonderful celebratory poem...and so sweet that the photo is of your daughter! I love that you've been regularly posting Mary Oliver's poetry.
ReplyDeleteLaurel, I'm glad you're enjoying the poetry posts. Since we're away on our road trip, I haven't had much time to post (or visit blogs). I'm glad I had all of these poetry posts scheduled!
DeleteI think my daughter was 7 at the time of that photograph. She loved to twirl in her dresses and I loved that sweet little summer dress she was wearing that day.
There is a local young man that I follow on instagram. I know his mother, and Tom knew him as a student. The other day he posted, on the story part of igram, a poem by Mary O. and I just felt amazement. Somehow, I don't picture a fellow in his forties reading her work. It delighted me.
ReplyDeleteNan, I follow a man (who has a blog) who has remarked on my posts about Mary Oliver's poetry. He might be about the same age as your local friend. He has said how much he enjoys her poetry, too. I think she speaks to so many on many levels. I just love her poems.
DeleteI remember one morning when I would do a silly dance routine to get my day started and my friend Verma popped by my house and saw me doing my dance. She had a look of astonishment on her face. Sweet memory. Lovely picture. Delightful poem.
ReplyDeleteDeb, I'm glad this poem brought back such a sweet memory!
DeleteThat is such a sweet picture and goes perfectly with this poem. Oh how I love to dance. I remember all the dancing I did in my 20s when I'd go out with my girlfriends. Probably how I managed to keep slim back then! haha...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Iliana. She loved to twirl when she was little! Funny thing about dancing. I don't like to dance in public, but I've been dancing around in the RV while listening to my music. It is good exercise, isn't it?!
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