The Dog of Joy - Leaping for a Treat!
Dear Mary Oliver,
I read your poem to him
as he drove us up-Island.
He was a hello,
and so soon a goodbye.
When I got home, I read some more,
pausing when you wrote, of your parents:
"May they sleep well. May they soften."
Life is a long list of letting go's.
You wrote:
"A lifetime isn't long enough
for the beauties of this world."
All those years spent earning a living,
instead of joyously living a life.
"And I am thinking: maybe just
looking and listening is the real work."
I am a poet, reading a Master, and you tell me:
"....the poem....wants to open itself
like the little door of a temple."
You say: "It may be the rock in the field
is also a song" and I know this,
for I have heard it, telling tales
of centuries ago.
You say: "Maybe the world, without us,
is the real poem."
I was a woman of sixty, when I read:
"I am a woman of sixty, of no special courage",
and my last love had been and gone.
I and my black wolf were in love with the wild
and it - and we - were enough.
I read your book to the living,
and I read your book
to the dying woman in a coma,
to whom I wanted to give a gift.
I felt the energy in the room shift,
and knew the gift had been received.
I walked outside into a rainbow.
And all of it
- the dying woman, your words,
the sky, my heart -
was enough and more than enough.
You said:
"Remember me......I am the one who told you
that the grass is also alive,
and listening."
I know this. And I know that
Mother Earth hums a love song
to all her children, furry and not.
I close the book in gratitude
for the words that help me
better love this world.
for Brendan at earthweal, where he inspires us with Mary Oliver's words today. I wrote this in 2018. The quoted lines are from Mary Oliver's wonderful The Leaf and the Cloud, a book-length poem about life and death.
"I walked outside into a rainbow." Really grabbed me. What a beautiful poem with many stunning lines. I can see you with your black wolf walking in the wild.
ReplyDeleteThe rainbow was a gift and more than enough. It's a sign of love. I remember reading to my grandmother in her final days. I could see movement beyond the curtain of her eyes. She was listening.
ReplyDeleteLovely heartfelt piece. It's such a tribute to a poet - but also talks about what poetry can do (and how useful it is).
ReplyDeleteWe should do a prompt sometimes on poetic companions -- those we walk with reading their poems & joining their conversation How many have traveled with Mary Oliver, I wonder. This is a joyous poem about true intimacies (great leap for a treat there!) and resonate forever. You know I share the joy of Mary Oliver. Well done! - Brendan
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem ,Sherry ...I love the way you have weaved the personal and Mary Oliver's words together like a tapestry...yes, well done! JIM
ReplyDeleteI love the words of Mary Oliver that you've chosen. She is an inspiration to me too and she's helped me love this world even more. Lovely writing Sherry.
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