July 3: "Spring at Blackwater: I Go Through the Lessons Already Learned," Independence Day Eve, These Truths

Mary Oliver holds these lessons to be self-evident . . . 

Spring at Blackwater:  I Go Through the Lessons Already Learned

by:  Mary Oliver

He gave the fish

her coat of foil,

and her soft eggs.

He made the kingfisher's 

quick eye

and her peerless, terrible beak.

He made the circles

of the days and the seasons

to close tightly,

and forever--

then open again.

Yes, I borrowed words from Thomas Jefferson for my introduction on this Independence Day Eve as my neighbors shoot off their fireworks and my puppy cowers by her cage, staring at me with terrified eyes.

Oliver's lessons have nothing to do with equality or life or liberty.  However, they do have something to do with the pursuit of happiness.  Nothing makes Oliver happier than pursuing the wonders of nature--from foiled fish to the spinning of the seasons.  Nature is proof of the divine for Oliver.  Forests and seas, there are her cathedrals.

Tomorrow, the citizens of the United States celebrate Independence Day with parades and barbecues and fireworks.  It's a pretty big deal, even though the country has never really lived up to the primary ideal of the Declaration of Independence:  that we're all created equal.  History can back me up on this fact, from slavery to Stonewall.  We have a bad habit of marginalizing and killing individuals who have the wrong color skin or love the wrong people or question gender definitions/differences.

I have been an educator for over 30 years now.  I can't tell you how many lessons I've taught.  Harder still:  I don't know how much of a difference I've made in my students' lives.  I've taught mythology and film, poetry and research, literature and narrative writing.  Through my entire academic career, I've tried to instill in my pupils a love for nature and the environment, per Mary Oliver.  I've also thrown in a healthy dose of respect for all creatures, great and small, human and nonhuman.

I learned these lessons over many years.  I grew up with a father who was racist and homophobic.  Of course, he was a product of his own upbringing, so I can't be angry with him.  From a young age, he was taught this kind of hate.  As a young person myself, I swallowed my embarrassment when my dad told his "jokes" to my friends.  When I became a parent, however, I started putting my foot down.  I wanted to break the cycle, and I think I did.  My kids are loving and accepting, and I'm incredibly lucky for that.

The world needs more Mary Oliver lessons, less John Birch Society lessons.  (Yes, my father was a member of that organization, as well.  If you've never heard the name John Birch before, count your blessings.)  More spring at Blackwater lessons, less Andrew Jackson lessons.

That's Saint Marty's self-evident truth tonight.