January 17: Mary Oliver, "The Uses of Sorrow," Let the Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her

In the Catholic Church, there is a prayer that is said for a person who has recently died.

Tonight, Saint Marty says it for poet Mary Oliver:

Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord; and let the perpetual light shine upon her.  May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

The Uses of Sorrow

by:  Mary Oliver

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.