Image via.
I have been sitting with this poem, by Mary Oliver, all week (graphic via):
The poem is difficult to read aloud — “haul out all” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue — the middle “out” does weird things to the mouth; the line breaks make for confusing breath work; the visual delay — not to mention figurative break — of the word “shadow” at the beginning of the third stanza makes us work overtime for meaning; she’s elided all punctuation in the phrase “without direction management supervision.” By the poem’s end, we are as knotted as the copse of litter and leaves itself.
But the birds loved it.
(!)
As in: are there things we perceive as mess, or parenthetical brushwood, or spaces to fix or shape or impose some kind of temporary order upon, that in fact need nothing at all? Things that might be better off unvisited — that might be more hospitable, or joyful, or just more fully themselves, if left to their own devices?
I am thinking mainly of my children and their easy ways of being. The way my son watches a movie while draped at odd angles on the couch. The way my daughter leaves her hair wavy and wild. Their squinting, silly jokes and exaggerated noises. There is nothing to correct. This morning, over coffee, a friend told me something that had sent her heart echoing: “Listen when your children are telling you who they are.” Let them be those little blackberry thickets.
I am thinking also of my own writing. Editing is one thing, but — may I always make room for the unexpected. May I not be drawn to tame the weirdness out. Sometimes I weedwack my way through a dense spinney of words with the red pen only to realize that the coppice version is less appealing to the nest-building mind. Not everything is best pared back. The imagination thrives in shadowlands, or at least in spaces with many branches from which to fly.
When I went birding in Colorado last summer, the guide told us that when looking for birds, a good place to start is on the barest branch towards the top of a tree, as birds like a good a view — for hunting, for visibility. Sure enough, we scanned the trees and found a raptor on the one craggy branch extended at an odd angle from the pine. That crooked limb made the perfect perch.
Let the animal heart beat where and how it likes.
****
Post Scripts.
+”The world is a mist. And then the world is vast minute and clear.”
+I have also re-read this poem three times this week. It stirs so much in me.
Shopping Break.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links below, I may receive compensation.
+Ooh! This under-$200 ponte navy blazer is a great look for less for this VB!
+Great last minute outfit-maker for Valentine’s Day — or any date night. I’m obsessed with it! I think I’m going to order it.
+This Gap sweater is giving Jenni Kayne.
+The Internet is going crazy over this pore-reducing mask. I’m itching to try!
+Chic new rug at Serena and Lily. For an entryway?!
+Love this sleek food storage system from Caraway. Clever with the little inserts/modules!
+These $35 sandals have a chic Chloe vibe.
+The best way to store out of season shoes!
+Seriously fun puffer.
+Two items I’m eyeing for my son’s room: this lamp and this desk chair.
+You might remember that I’m obsessed with this luxe detergent. I use it for our sheets and towels. I also just noticed this brand has a whole other line of items — hand soap, linen spray, etc!
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