You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.~ from “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver died this week at 83. Her poetry has been a true inspiration to me. Her poetry was deeply rooted in looking at life through the lens of the natural world. She would take long daily, solitary walks in nature and even hid pencils in the woods in case she was inspired and hadn’t remembered to bring one. This particular poem has brought me comfort again and again. “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.” Take it from Mary. You have a place in the family of things even when you feel less than deserving of it.
“Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.” Something we would all benefit from. Instead of only sharing the good, sharing a bit of our despair. We would all feel a little less alone in the things that are not always what we want to show the world
Thank you, Mary Oliver, for all you have given the world with your words.