Idle and blessed, wild and precious
...I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention
how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
--from Mary Oliver's 1990 poem, "The Summer Day"
I'm not sure how I got this far in life without becoming obsessed with Mary Oliver's poetry, but rest assured I'm currently making up for lost time.
Comments
By katy at 5:07 p.m. Dec. 4, 2010
Love it! Even I have a soft spot for Mary Oliver and, as I'm fond of saying, poetry has never really been my thing. :)
By katie johnson at 12:04 a.m. Dec. 6, 2010
Mary Oliver champions words of power and peace. I first heard her speak via my yoga instructor at the JCC as inspiring words for that day's class. It's remarkable that your blog manages to have the same effect as a yoga class. Both allow me to gain some sense of clarity of the world. Thank you! Please keep the fresh words coming.
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