[identity profile] iamkatia.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] greatpoetry
Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

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.
(deleted comment)

Date: 2004-07-14 05:00 am (UTC)
ext_110001: By rthoughtsjewelrys (Default)
From: [identity profile] katers007.livejournal.com
Oh, I adore Mary Oliver. One of my favorites, thanks for posting this.

July 2025

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
1314 1516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Feb. 28th, 2026 12:17 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios