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My Mary Oliver Poems

Wild Geese 

    The first line of this poem, Geese by Mary Olvier, grabbed my attention: "You do not have to be good." As I am currently balancing so many things on my plate—coursework, leadership roles, being a mom, and taking care of myself—I struggle with missing the mark and messing up my GPA! But this poem spoke to me through several lines. "You do not have to walk on your knees, whoever you are, no matter how lonely, announcing your place in the family of things." This is speaking of self-acceptance: I do not need to be perfect; just be in the moment and be in the solace of the natural world. To stop and be in the moment, enjoy nature, and experience the images of the wild geese flying, as it is a symbol of me returning to my authentic self and finding my sense of belonging in this world I have created. If I remain stressed and caught up in the way I believe things should be, I will miss the peace, the nature, and the beauty of what my life is really supposed to be like. No matter my struggles, I can look around me and find my connection and purpose in this world. I found hope in this poetry piece by Mary Olvier, and I will stop running, slow down, and enjoy the wild geese!


June 


    I selected this poem because June is my birthday and one of my favorite months, and I wanted to explore what Mary Olvier had to beautifully paint for this month. There are a few lines that grabbed my attention, and in doing so, it made me imagine being home in June. "A single swallow glides in the air above the water; the bird approaches land, and now it is over the beach." Home for me is Florida, and I have lived in Texas since 2015, but every year I go home in the month of June, and I spend several days on the beach watching and listening to the birds. The birds are amazing, and hearing them communicate with one another and connect to nature is an absolutely beautiful and peaceful experience. There is something magical that happens in nature in June that allows me to celebrate. I believe that Mary Olvier is describing the effect of June in reference to allowing us to embrace our true selves and to not let the pressures of society burden us but instead be lavish and bloom like June flowers. June reminds us of the abundant life we have, and Olvier describes this abundant life so well. The abundant life I get to live and I get to celebrate the gift of life every June!


I Looked Up

.    I looked up, which is why I chose this poem to reflect on. That sentence alone brought me hope in the midst of a spinning world. I really enjoyed the hope I received from Olvier's other poems, so I knew I could lean into this one for a message of inspiration. The line "What misery to be afraid of death. / What wretchedness, to believe only in what can be proven." gave me hope to connect with as I am grieving my aunt, who passed away on July 1 from breast cancer and the outcomes associated with this diagnosis, and now I walk into October with news that one of my best friends has the later stages of breast cancer and will be having surgery on October 10. This is all surreal. Olvier's poem describes a beautiful nature scene for me, so as I closed my eyes to draw a connection to this piece, I was able to realize that she is encouraging her readers to let go of fear of the unknown and connect to the moment, to the richness of life, to embrace every moment, and to know that this life is beautiful. If we fear the unknown or death, we will pass on the magic of connection and miss the beauty around us. So, when I am not sure of what to do, I will just look up and embrace nature around me. There is something amazing about our existence when we realize what really MATTERS!



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