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Sunday, June 30, 2024

Mary Oliver ~ Leaf and Cloud

 


Dear Mary Oliver,

I read you to him
as he drove us, miles and miles,
up-Island.
He listened, he smiled.
But he only spoke the language
of "I Am." He could not really hear.
He was an improbable 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,
of understanding, of forgiveness.

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."
That is the work I am doing now.

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, singing songs
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 misplaced 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 her final sleep,
to whom I wanted to give a gift.
I felt the energy in the room change,
as the gift was received,
and 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 close the book in gratitude
for the words that help me
better love this world.

for Shay's wonderful Word List prompt featuring the work of Mary Oliver, whose work I adore. The italicized lines are taken from her amazing book-poem The Leaf and the Cloud, which I could not recommend more highly. 

When Mary Oliver died, the poets of Tofino gathered and read some of her poems, and I read this poem I wrote in homage to her. So this is not new. I changed it slightly to use four words from the list. But I couldn't say it this well now, when my poor head is so very weary. Smiles. I just wanted to share it with you.

11 comments:

  1. That final tercet says it all, Sherry.

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  2. You conjure up a wonderful insight into the peaks and troughs of life..I love how you have highlighted your thoughts with quotes from Mary Oliver herself and I also like the ending - perhaps ageing brings its rewards - Jae

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  3. great writing and use of words like a tapestry of life . Love it.

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  4. And what an homage it is, Sherry. Marvelous! Mary Oliver's poetry is among my favorites as well. She is outstanding.

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  5. I love the way you incorporated your words with Mary Oliver's. Your poem is a gem!

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  6. This is beautiful Sherry. It is like an annotation, a personal annotation of what Mary Oliver's poetry has meant and now means to you. So moving.

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  7. This is absolutely beautiful and shows the feathers you wear in Oliver's honor. So fine in their own display.

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  8. You capture the simple kind thoughts of a wonderful poet. I loved reading this.

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  9. A beautiful tapestry of Mary Oliver's words, Sherry, interwoven with your own life-speech, telling beauty, joy, comfort, and song. A marvel to read.

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  10. That you are a "woman of no special courage" is untrue. It takes special courage to live and keep loving. Beautiful!

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  11. This poem is gorgeous Sherry! I think you and Mary Oliver are kindred spirits in this world, even though she is already in the next. Your poems always speak directly to my heart!

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