One or Two Things
by: Mary Oliver
1.
Don't bother me.
I've just
been born.
2.
The butterfly's loping flight
carries it through the country of the leaves
delicately, and well enough to get it
where it wants to go, wherever that is, stopping
here and there to fuzzle the damp throats
of flowers and the black mud; up
and down it swings, frenzied and aimless, and sometimes
for long delicious moments it is perfectly
lazy, riding motionless in the breeze on the soft stalk
of some ordinary flower.
3.
The god of dirt
came up to me many times and said
so many wise and delectable things, I lay
on the grass listening
to his dog voice,
crow voice,
frog voice, now,
he said, and now,
and never once mentioned forever,
4.
which has nevertheless always been,
like a sharp iron hoof,
at the center of my mind.
5.
One or two things are all you need
to travel over the blue pond, over the deep
roughage of the trees and through the stiff
flowers of lightning--some deep
memory of pleasure, some cutting
knowledge of pain.
6.
But to lift the hoof!
For that you need
an idea.
7.
For years and years I struggled
just to love my life. And then
the butterfly
rose, weightless, in the wind.
"Don't love your life
too much," it said,
and vanished
into the world.
Mary Oliver's point in this poem seems pretty clear: live in the now and don't hold onto anything in life too tightly. It all eventually goes the way of the dodo, so it's important to embrace each day fully, because tomorrow the butterfly may rise in the wind and disappear. Carpe diem.
It's Friday night, and I'm a little exhausted from the week's goings on--the teaching and events and meetings. Low energy and lower enthusiasm.
But, just like Oliver, Saint Marty has a few things on his mind.
1.
Never turn
down free
pizza.
2.
Read poetry
each day
as if
your life
depended
on it.
3.
When the moon
is full,
beware of
skunks
in your backyard
4.
and always
put the lid
tight on
your trash can.
5.
Go for walks
at dusk
when you can
smell the maples
turning
gold.
6.
Tell your kids
you love
them
at least three times
every day
7.
because tomorrow
is not
a promise.
8.
Open
your mouth
and sing
loudly
9.
when you
hear your
favorite song
on the radio.
10.
Always stop
what you're doing
to watch
rainstorms
11.
and sunrises.
❤️
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