Thursday, November 18, 2021

I Worried by Mary Oliver

 

I Worried by Mary Oliver


I worried a lot, will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn 
as it was taught, and if not, how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
Can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it, and I am, well, 
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading, or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia.

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And it gave up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning
and sang.

5 comments:

  1. This sounds like me, I worry too much.

    Have a great day!

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  2. I love Mary Oliver. And just learned last month that for the last 15 years of her life, my sleepy Florida town (village?) was her second home.

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  3. Isn't this entire poem absolutely the best mantra for all of us! Especially we of a certain age and time in life.

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  4. Isn't this entire poem absolutely the best mantra for all of us! Especially we of a certain age and time in life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I will revisit this. I am a worrier. For what? You know the saying, worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.

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