Olympics at sunset in September

Olympics at sunset in September
Wedding Reception on Camano Island

2011-12-01

a poem that saved my life today

"When I Am Among the Trees"
from Thirst: Poems By Mary Oliver. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. (2006):

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,
"and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."

Thank you Mary Oliver, though I may never meet you.

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