{"id":119,"date":"2023-04-22T14:59:23","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T18:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/?page_id=119"},"modified":"2023-04-23T20:46:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T00:46:23","slug":"poetry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>&#8220;Wild Geese&#8221;<\/em><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MARY OLIVER READING &quot;WILD GEESE&quot;\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lfayiBoaXE8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Wild Geese<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You do not have to be good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You do not have to walk on your knees<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You only have to let the soft animal of your body<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">love what it loves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile the world goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are moving across the landscapes,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">over the prairies and the deep trees,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the mountains and the rivers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are heading home again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the world offers itself to your imagination,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting &#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">over and over announcing your place<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the family of things.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Love Poems<\/em><\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-155\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-155\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.16-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.16-PM.png 806w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.16-PM-272x300.png 272w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.16-PM-768x848.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Oliver photographed by Molly Malone Cook, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Little Crazy Love Song<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don\u2019t want eventual,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I want soon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s 5 a.m. It\u2019s noon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s dusk falling to dark.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I listen to music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I eat up a few wild poems<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">while time creeps along<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as though it\u2019s got all day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is what I have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dull hangover of waiting,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the blush of my heart on the damp grass,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the flower-faced moon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A gull broods on the shore<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">where a moment ago there were two.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Softly my right hand fondles my left hand<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as though it were you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The First Day<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After you left<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I jumped up and down,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I clapped my hands,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I stared into space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In those days I was starving for happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, say it was both silly and serious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Say it was the first warm sting of possibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Say I sensed the spreading warmth of joy.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_156\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-156\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-156\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.20-PM-277x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.20-PM-277x300.png 277w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.20-PM-768x832.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.20-PM.png 794w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-156\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Oliver with bird, photographed by Molly Malone Cook, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>I Know Someone<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know someone who kisses the way<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a flower opens, but more rapidly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Flowers are sweet. They have<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">short, beatific lives. They offer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">much pleasure. There is<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">nothing in the world that can be said<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">against them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sad, isn\u2019t it, that all they can kiss<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is the air.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, yes! We are the lucky ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>I Did Think, Let\u2019s Go About This Slowly<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I did think, let\u2019s go about this slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is important. This should take<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">some really deep thought. We should take<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">small thoughtful steps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, bless us, we didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_157\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-157\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-157\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.24-PM-287x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.24-PM-287x300.png 287w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.24-PM-768x802.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.33.24-PM.png 814w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Oliver with bird, photographed by Molly Malone Cook, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>How do I love you?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do I love you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, this way and that way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, happily. Perhaps<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I may elaborate by<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">demonstration? Like<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">this, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">like this and<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">no more words now<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>That Little Beast<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That pretty little beast, a poem,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0has a mind of its own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I want it to crave apples<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0but it wants red meat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I want to walk peacefully\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on the shore<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and it wants to take off all its clothes<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and dive in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I want to use small words<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and make them important<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and it starts shouting the dictionary,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I want to sum up and give thanks,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0putting things in order<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and it starts dancing around the room\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on its four furry legs, laughing\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and calling me outrageous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But sometimes, when I&#8217;m thinking about you,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and no doubt smiling,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it sits down quietly, one paw under its chin,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and just listens.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_158\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-158\" style=\"width: 776px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-158 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.31.18-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"776\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.31.18-PM.png 776w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.31.18-PM-300x189.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-22-at-7.31.18-PM-768x485.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 776px) 100vw, 776px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Oliver, photographed by Molly Malone Cook, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Everything That Was Broken<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everything that was broken has<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">forgotten its brokenness. I live<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">now in a sky-house, through every<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">window the sun. Also your presence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our touching, our stories. Earthy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and holy both. How can this be, but<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it is. Every day has something in<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it whose name is Forever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Except for the Body<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Except for the body<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of someone you love,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">including all its expressions<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in privacy and in public,<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">trees, I think,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are the most beautiful\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">forms on the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though, admittedly,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">if this were a contest,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the trees would come in<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">an extremely distant second.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>I Don\u2019t Want to Lose<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don\u2019t want to lose a single thread<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from the intricate brocade of this happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I want to remember everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which is why I\u2019m lying awake, sleepy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but not sleepy enough to give it up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just now, a moment from a year ago:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the early morning light, the deft, sweet<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">gesture of your hand<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0reaching for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Poems Written After Molly&#8217;s Death<\/em><\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_159\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-159\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-159 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-scaled.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/IMG_1050-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary Oliver&#8217;s New and Selected Poems, dedicated to Molly Malone Cook, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>After Her Death<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I am trying to find the lesson<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for tomorrow. Matthew something.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which lectionary? I have not<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">forgotten the Way, but, a little,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the way to the Way. The trees keep whispering<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">peace, peace, and the birds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the shallows are full of the<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bodies of small fish and are<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">content. They open their wings<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">so easily, and fly. It is still<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I open the book<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">which the strange, difficult, beautiful church<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">has given me. To Matthew. Anywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Those Days<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I think of her I think of the long summer days<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">she lay in the sun, how she loved the sun, how we<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">spread our blanket, and friends came, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the dogs played, and then I would get restless and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">get up and go off to the woods<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and the fields, and the afternoon would<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">soften gradually and finally I would come<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">home, through the long shadows, and into the house<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">where she would be<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my glorious welcoming, tan and hungry and ready to tell<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the hurtless gossips of the day and how I<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">listened leisurely while I put<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">around the room flowers in jars of water\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">daisies, butter-and-eggs, and everlasting\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">until like our lives they trembled and shimmered<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Percy (Four)<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I went to church.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I walked on the beach<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And played with Percy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I answered the phone<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And paid the bills<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I did the laundry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I spoke her name<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A hundred times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I knelt in the dark<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And said some holy words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I went downstairs,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I watered the flowers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I fed Percy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>What I Said at Her Service<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we pray to love God <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">perfectly<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Surely we do not mean <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">only<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(Lord, see how well I have done.)<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>&#8220;Thank you, thank you.&#8221;<\/em><\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_212\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-212\" style=\"width: 462px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-212\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-09-at-3.41.33-PM-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"605\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-09-at-3.41.33-PM-1.png 816w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-09-at-3.41.33-PM-1-229x300.png 229w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-09-at-3.41.33-PM-1-782x1024.png 782w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/Screen-Shot-2023-04-09-at-3.41.33-PM-1-768x1005.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">collage of Mary Oliver by author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>The Whistler<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All of a sudden she began to whistle. By all of a sudden<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean that for more than thirty years she had not<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">whistled. It was thrilling. At first I wondered, who was<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the house, what stranger? I was upstairs reading, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">she was downstairs. As from the throat of a wild and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cheerful bird, not caught but visiting, the sounds war-<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bled and slid and doubled back and larked and soared.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Finally I said, Is that you? Is that you whistling? Yes, she<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">said. I used to whistle, a long time ago. Now I see I can<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">still whistle. And cadence after cadence she strolled<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">through the house, whistling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know her so well, I think. I thought. Elbow and ankle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mood and desire. Anguish and frolic. Anger too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the devotions. And for all that, do we even begin<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to know each other? Who is this I\u2019ve been living with<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for thirty years?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This clear, dark, lovely whistler?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>I Have Just Said<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have just said<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">something<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ridiculous to you<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and in response,<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">your glorious laughter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These are the days<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the sun<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is swimming back<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to the east<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and the light on the water<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">gleams<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as never, it seems, before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can\u2019t remember<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">every spring,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can\u2019t remember<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">everything\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">so many years!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Are the morning kisses<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the sweetest<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">or the evenings<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">or the inbetweens?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All I know<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is that \u201cthank you\u201d should appear<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">somewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, just in case<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can\u2019t find<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the perfect place\u2013<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThank you, thank you.<\/span><b>\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_53\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53\" style=\"width: 576px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-53 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg.jpg 576w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2023\/04\/ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-53\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Molly and Mary, Molly Malone Cook papers, Sophia Smith Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Wild Geese&#8221; &nbsp; &nbsp; Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/poetry\/\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Poetry<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3409,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-119","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119\/revisions\/269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/ourworlds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}