mary oliver

*“Mary Ann and her kitty Jellylorum,” by Mary Holstad (beige mohair, shoebutton eyes, vintage low-waist frock, 1987)*

Why I Wake Early

by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who made the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and the crotchety –
best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light –
good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how I start the day.

♥ This week’s Sunday Bear Hug is brought to you by Mr. Cornelius, who wishes you the brightest and most glorious of mornings, hoping you’ll carry this light with you throughout the week.

(((((((((((((((((HUG)))))))))))))))))))

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THE POET IS TOLD TO FILL UP MORE PAGES
by Mary Oliver

But, where are the words?
Not in my pocket.
Not in my refrigerator.
Not in my savings account.

So I sit, harassed, with my notebook.
It’s a joke, really, and not a good one.
For fun I try a few commands myself.
I say to the rain, stop raining.
I say to the sun, that isn’t anywhere nearby,
Come back, and come fast.

Nothing happens.

So this is all I can give you,
not being the maker of what I do,
but only the one that holds the pencil.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.
Make of it what you will.

(from SWAN: Poems and Prose Poems, Beacon Press, 2010)

Those 26 letters never cease to amaze me. Sometimes you feel you can write the whole world, other times, nothing at all. How to court the muse? Endure the agony of waiting? I remain humbled; writing is a mystery.

♥ The lovely Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm is our Poetry Friday host today. Please take her some letters of love. She may just give you some Pineapple Slices!

♥ Click here for the full list of 2011 Poetry Friday posts at alphabet soup.

**Love typography by Sharon Prazner/flickr.

***”i heart you” pasta by achew *Bokehmon”/flickr.

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