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Wild Geese ~ Poetry Thursday

January 11, 2007

ph_oct_wildgeese.jpg

Untitled ~Canon 30d

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~ Mary Oliver, ~ New and Selected Poems

This is one of my favorite poems ~ one which benefits from being read aloud, even if you're just reading it to yourself. The line, "let the soft animal of your body love what it loves" might be one of the most delicious lines ever written. Remarkably, Oliver reminds us, not only of our insiginificance in the world, but our integral significance to each other and the world around us. I wonder why we're so quick to forget we have a place in "the family of things". Perhaps we've lost our connection to the earth ~ the wild geese, the hungry fox, the sad swans, the burping toads ~ who would remind us of our connection to the earth, and to each other if only we could connect with them.

The image was shot many moons ago during a gig as a contract photographer for the army. (yes, I just said, "army") Accotink Wildlife Refuge has some amazing places to take pictures at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, which makes me think of our soldiers. After the president's speech last night, one of my biggest wishes is that our troops come home.

You've marched a hundred miles through the desert,
Tell us of your despair, yours, and we will tell you ours
All the while the wild geese are calling harsh and clear,
"Please, come home."

Posted by vincent at January 11, 2007 07:24 PM

Comments

Thank you so much for this poem from Mary Oliver- she is fast becoming one of my favorites as well...
And, yes, please come home... let them all come home...

Posted by: Regina Clare Jane at January 11, 2007 11:02 PM

You selected one of my favourite poems to post on your blog this week! I've just come home from two weeks of camping, so the connection with the wilderness really tugs at me right now. One evening I was walking down a deserted country road when a flock of geese flew overhead. Mary Oliver's poem could have been written about that evening, and the feelings I was churning through at the time. Beautiful!

Posted by: Pip at January 11, 2007 11:35 PM

Great picture, touching words.

Posted by: LoieJ at January 12, 2007 12:26 AM

Beautiful photo and I love that Mary Oliver poem. I think we have lost our connection to the earth and that explains a lot....

Posted by: Crafty Green Poet at January 12, 2007 03:15 AM

A stunning photo...and a simply beautiful poem. Nice way to start my day. Thanks friend.

Posted by: samtzmom at January 12, 2007 06:18 AM

Thanks for posting that poem. It resonated today, for whatever reason, for many reasons.

Posted by: joy at January 12, 2007 10:33 AM

Wonderful words and imagery.

Posted by: Arthur at January 12, 2007 12:48 PM

Great post, Susan. Mary Oliver's words are always so soothing to me.

Posted by: jzrart at January 12, 2007 01:30 PM

Been thinkin'. You do that to me sometimes,... and it hurts!

Anyway, about the troops in Iraq: Whether you agree or disagree with the reasons they are there, now that they ARE there, don't they deserve all the moral and technical support they can get? To do anything less is to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam, and to run the risk of having the same outcome.

Posted by: Arthur at January 13, 2007 09:33 AM

Simply stunning and thought provoking. All parts of today's blog. I am overwhelmed.

Posted by: janet at January 13, 2007 05:58 PM

Peaceful poem and gorgeous photograph. I like the contrast of the background softness against the foreground crisp water reflections. Sets off the goose so nicely.
The poem you chose is exactly what many of us wish for: peace. Sigh...

So true: poetry is meant to be read aloud, but please forgive my voice since I had a chest cold when I read mine aloud for Poetry Thursay. Any poem deserves more "oomph"/emotion than I was able to convey. Hope you stop by
GeL

Posted by: GeL at January 14, 2007 08:38 AM