Splendid Vernal Equinox

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Bring on the little green shoots and warmer days!

Here is one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems, just for today, the first day of Spring.

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my work is loving the world.
here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-
equal seekers of sweetness.
here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work.

which is mostly standing still an learning to be
astonished.
the phoebe, the delphinium.
the sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

3 thoughts on “Splendid Vernal Equinox”

  1. What a perfect poem for the beginning of spring.
    You’ve inspired me to pull out my Mary books and plow through them….it’s like eating ice cream in the form of words: Word Cream.

    Your garden should be erupting new green baby shoots right about now……Can’t wait to see it in full Beautifulness. When you design the new house, you NEED that courtyard!

    Happy Spring Sweetie!
    L.H.

    Reply

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