"Look, the glory around us, the trees and birds. I lived in shame. I dishonored it all and didn't notice the glory. The foolish man." from The Tree of Life
Mindful
Mary Oliver
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in a haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for-
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world-
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant-
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these-
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in a haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for-
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world-
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant-
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these-
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
Feast of the Ascension
May 24th
Riverside Cemetery Moline, Illinois
4 comments:
beautiful! thank you!
So, um, did that one survive? I'm sure you're aware that not all caterpillars survive the twins', er, examinations. Hopefully he was one of the lucky ones.
Did you take those, Jared? They're fanstastic! I love the mesmerized looks on the boys' faces. : )
Thanks so much for this poem, dear Beth. I adore it.
Those are all Beth - with my cropping... Like the posts - all Beth with my editing. Those are indeed great pictures.
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