Mary Oliver.

A treasure, a poet, a conduit to wonder…

“I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.”

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“For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

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“Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word.

I’m letting all of the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.”

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All above quoted words by Mary Oliver

Thank you Mary Oliver for the ropes let down when I was lost.  You inspired and lifted me up, reminded me of the always verdant, wise, and loving absorption available in the natural world.  Your words were and are a respite.  You will be so deeply missed, but your rich deep poetry, music really, will remain – always.