Life in the Slow Lane

Contemplating life, faith, words, and memories

On Winter’s Margin by Mary Oliver — April 13, 2022

On Winter’s Margin by Mary Oliver

Sitting here in the Pacific NW in mid-April, dark gray days with rain one day, snow the next. Sometimes wind and thunderstorms. Dumping of hail yesterday; it lingers still. I watch for nature’s population. Mary Oliver had a unique perspective on nature as can be seen in her poem, On Winter’s Margin.

I had another post underway for today, but our weather patterns in Oregon have been rather strange. Maybe they are mystifying where you live as well. One day last week we enjoyed a sunny day with a temperature of 75. Then our weather predictors began talking snow from the height of the mountains down to the valley floor where we live. My first paragraph above describes this week, so far. These conditions drew me to Oliver’s poem.

Now sit back and enjoy Mary Oliver’s poem. As always, Oliver fills her stanzas with an understanding of shadow and light both in nature and in human nature.

Sherrey

 

Featured Image Attribution:  Photo by Valentin Hintikka on Unsplash 

 



ON WINTER'S MARGIN by Mary Oliver

On winter’s margin, see the small birds now
With half-forged memories come flocking home
To gardens famous for their charity.
The green globe’s broken; vines like tangled veins
Hang at the entrance to the silent wood.

With half a loaf, I am the prince of crumbs;
By snow’s down, the birds amassed will sing
Like children for their sire to walk abroad!
But what I love, is the gray stubborn hawk
Who floats alone beyond the frozen vines;
And what I dream of are the patient deer
Who stand on legs like reeds and drink that wind; -

They are what saves the world: who choose to grow
Thin to a starting point beyond this squalor.

~~ From Famous Poets & Poems

 

The Well Rising :: Poem by William E. Stafford — April 6, 2022

The Well Rising :: Poem by William E. Stafford

The Well Rising

 
The well rising without sound,
the spring on a hillside,
the plowshare brimming through deep ground
everywhere in the field—
 
The sharp swallows in their swerve
flaring and hesitating
hunting for the final curve
coming closer and closer—
 
The swallow heart from wingbeat to wingbeat
counseling decision, decision:
thunderous examples. I place my feet
with care in such a world.
 

For a biography of William E. Stafford, please visit Poetry Foundation.
“The Well Rising” copyright 1960, 1998 the Estate of William Stafford. Reprinted from The Way It Is with the permission of Graywolf Press

Source: The Darkness Round Us Is Deep (HarperPerennial, 1993)
 
Featured image attribution: Edith Johnson from Pixabay
Proclamation for Peace by Kim Stafford — March 9, 2022
Poem for These Times — September 30, 2020

Poem for These Times

Lately, I’ve involved in cleanup and reorganization of some writing files. Included in these are some quotes I’ve come across in reading that I especially liked. 

The following caught my eye yesterday and after reading it over, I realized it is well-suited to the times we are travelling through today. I don’t know when it was written but don’t believe that matters. I hope you enjoy.

The Room of Ancient Keys
by Elena Mikhalkova

My grandmother once gave me a tip:
In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.
Do what you have to do, but little by little.
Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.
Wash the dishes.
Remove the dust.
Write a letter.
Make a soup.
You see?
You are advancing step by step.
Take a step and stop.
Rest a little.
Praise yourself.
Take another step.
Then another.
You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.
And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.

First appeared on April 24, 2020, on the Facebook Page, Midwives of the Soul.

Featured Image Attribution: falco from Pixabay 
Hello Summer! — June 22, 2020

Hello Summer!

Summer entered the Pacific Northwest yesterday, specifically the Portland, OR area, ablaze in sunlight and blue sky. Of course, lest we’d forget our geographic location, the occasional cloud covered the sun. Yet, that did nothing to deter the soul from dancing.

In reading yesterday, I came across a poem by William Wordsworth that spoke to how I felt with summer outside my doorway and what memories of its gala arrival would mean for me months down the road. Continue reading

Democracy by Langston Hughes (1949) — June 5, 2020

Democracy by Langston Hughes (1949)

Summer entered the Pacific Northwest yesterday, specifically the Portland, OR area, ablaze in sunlight and blue sky. Of course, lest we’d forget our geographic location, the occasional cloud covered the sun. Yet, that did nothing to deter the soul from dancing.

In reading yesterday, I came across a poem by William Wordsworth that spoke to how I felt with summer outside my doorway and what memories of its gala arrival would mean for me months down the road.

Continue reading