I’m slowly making my way through this Mary Oliver collection. I recently finished two more sections, and here are here are my thoughts/interpretations..
(I AM NOT AN ENGLISH MAJOR. I MIGHT BE WRONG. THIS IS AN EXERCISE FOR ME.)
Blue Horses, 2014
After reading Lucretius: To love nature is to grieve and rejoice at the same time
I don’t want to be demure or respectable: If you try to be wise/cool/demure, you’ll miss so many things. Being excited and happy > being wise.
Stebbin’s Gulch: The randomness of nature is beautiful and will almost last forever
Franz Marc’s Blue Horses: Lament for Franz Marc, creating beautiful things is almost holy. (The painting that inspired the poem.)
On Meditating, Sort of: Meditation/appreciation seem to have hard rules and guidelines but do they really?
Loneliness: Seek solace in nature when you’re down and you’ll heal
Do Stones Feel?: Hoping nature has feelings so it can be as awed by itself as we are awed by it
Drifting: God may be invisible but holiness is everywhere
Blueberries: Dos a taste that is detached from a memory taste as good? Possibly not.
The Vulture’s Wings: Beings (not only vultures) contain multitudes
What gorgeous thing: The bluebird’s simple song might make it the only creature to truly be at peace
Dog Songs, 2013
The Storm: Little dog romping through fresh snow -> the best way to express happiness; better than words
Percy (One): Their dog Percy ate a copy of the Bhagavad Gita so as a joke they now believe he is wise.
Little Dog’s Rhapsody in the Night (Percy Three): The love between a dog and their person (and vice versa) is a masterpiece
Percy (Nine): Wouldn’t it be amazing to be as unbothered by deep thinking as dogs are when they’re running excitedly?
Benjamin, who came from who knows where: Like people, dogs shy away from things used against them in earlier life
The Dog Has Run Off again: She tires to balance her concern about the dog being gone with the dog’s desire to explore
Bazougey: A dog’s passing is sorrowful, but you can still find their best qualities in nature – they are not always gone
Her Grave: Although dogs live with us they belong to nature; (KR: this one made me sob)
The Poetry Teacher: Dogs and their exuberance are muses, better than any elegant setting
The First Time Percy Came Back: Dog’s spirits visit you in familiar places and not as a heavenly version of themselves, but just as themselves. (Nooo not Percy!)
Previously:
Mary Oliver Devotions: Felicity
