Mary Oliver has taken words and knitted them together beautifully. All of her poems were so enjoyable and hold a lot of truth. Even as she talks about prayer she says, "patch a few words together and don't try to make them elaborate, this isn't a contest but a doorway". Perhaps literature is not just the eloquence of words, but the paths that lead us through doorways of questions and understandings? What is communication after all, but a message that was meant to be heard and understood. Like Jesus said, "he who has ears, let him hear," and as Mary Oliver said, "just pay attention". There seems to be a pattern.
In her poems she writes of spiritual depth, sorrow, prayer, appreciating the nature around us. In class, we were prompted to listen and observe nature. Mary wrote something very inspirational about this idea: "Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished." The key word in this is LEARNING to be astonished. There is so much around us that is "astonishing" and beautiful, but we have become desensitized to it. It must be a sought after process to learn how to appreciate the amazing things God has placed among us for our enjoyment. The author mentions how important these things are even as religious people. One can see how, indeed, our stewardship of the Earth also reflects our godliness. This is an insightful and valuable lesson... told within a poem.
Although the poems by Mary Oliver were written with so much insight, they were still simple. Simplicity has and will always be beautiful. It catches the light in just the right way. This is how her poems inspire me. There is no need to say more than what is needed. Some of her poems were just life-thoughts she jotted down as she woke up from a dream. It seems as though she lives the life of a poet: reflecting, observing, wondering, questioning...
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