Monday, February 02, 2009

Fourth Annual A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading (but 1st time here)

Thank you for the invitation, Reya.

Some Questions You Might Ask
—Mary Oliver

Is the soul solid, like iron?
Or is it tender and breakable, like
the wings of a moth in the beak of the owl?
Who has it, and who doesn't?
I keep looking around me.
The face of the moose is as sad
as the face of Jesus.
The swan opens her white wings slowly.
In the fall, the black bear carries leaves into the darkness.
One question leads to another.
Does it have a shape? Like an iceberg?
Like the eye of a hummingbird?
Does it have one lung, like the snake and the scallop?
Why should I have it, and not the anteater
who loves her children?
Why should I have it, and not the camel?
Come to think of it, what about the maple trees?
What about the blue iris?
What about all the little stones, sitting alone in the moonlight?
What about roses, and lemons, and their shining leaves?
What about the grass?

13 comments:

Gledwood said...

Did you write that? It's really good ;->...

Reya Mellicker said...

This is one of my favorites. Great questions. I've asked many of them myself, in my own heart, since I'm such a lover of the natural world.

Thank you!

Angie Ledbetter said...

Love the bird images and the darks/lights.

Avid Reader said...

I love this poem, never heard of Mary Oliver until today. You'll have to share more of your fave poets with me.

Barbara said...

I love the fact that we chose the same poem from the thousands and thousands of possibilities!

Coffee Messiah said...

Very nice poem and was unfamiliar with the writer.

red dirt girl said...

hello tut-tut!

i was not quite sure as to what sort of poem (i thought it had to be self-written) so i published one of my own poems. it's on the new, second blog of mine. but you can link through to it from RDM (and back again) a swinging door.

otherwise, the url for it is:

http://lolaloves09.blogspot.com

(i think ... my memory is failing me much at the moment. just follow the pretty lady at RDM's blog ...)

xxx
rdm

e said...

Great choice! I have read Mary Oliver for a long time, she's a favorite. Good luck with the musical piece and octet!

angela said...

This is a great way of experiencing poets I haven't heard of. I tend to stick with the ones that are familiar..like old shoes I guess.
These are questions that must pass through most people's minds but they are so beautifully expressed. I've always thought that animals have souls..

red dirt girl said...

I love Mary Oliver and have a book of her poetry packed in a box in the garage - that garage that is the breeding ground for boxes?

she's always been a favorite as she typically uses nature as inspiration and imagery in her work.

plus, she'd be one person i'd like to have to dinner!

xxx
rdm

JGH said...

Wonderful poem full of great images. Especially the bear.

Tom said...

i too liked this , but now i wonder if any of these questions will ever be answered ; or will they only be followed by more questions ? Great selection .

crone51 said...

I love Mary Oliver and haven't thought of her in a long while. Thanks for sharing this.

I remember the line from William Blake ( is it? I think so) " For everything that lives is holy" and I remember thinking but isn't a stone holy as well? Isn't Half Dome at Yosemite holy ? Or the moon?

This is a wonderful blog. Thanks for being there ( here- wherever *here* is- the concept of location in the cyber world confuses me).