all the ingredients are here (poem)

This poem that Maria posted last week strikes a chord with me; I keep reading it over and over.

Isle of Skye (photo by Pippin)

MESSENGER

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

~ Mary Oliver, born in 1935, American poet

(I saw it here.)

9 thoughts on “all the ingredients are here (poem)”

Oh that's just so good! I must read it again and again. Thank you, Gretchen Joanna!

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She does say it rather well. I like this Mary Oliver. Thank you for sharing.

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Mary Oliver is a wonderful poet. Love it!

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Oh, I love Mary Oliver, and I love the phrase “learning to be astonished.” Sometimes all I have to do is step out into the backyard to be absolutely blown away!

xofrances

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I can see why you like this poem. I like it, too.
Thank you for sharing.

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I see that you've read “Nothing to Do But Stay” by Carrie Young. Have you read her other book, “The Wedding Dress”? I like reading books about the pioneers.

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Anita, I heard about “The Wedding Dress” long before I found “Stay,” but I haven't read it yet. I do want to! Did you read “Letters of a Woman Homesteader?” Maybe I already asked you about that.

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