This volume of Mary Oliver, all through its 73 poems, is centered on her images and impressions of the natural world, with the additional personal gratitude for being alive and able to observe the creation around her. At times, Oliver’s poetry is highly lyrical, reminiscent of the purity of oriental poems, and at times, it sings with sophistication, rapture, and praise.

Most of the poems in the book--such as Deep Summer, At the Pond, Swans, Prince Buzzard, Snowy Egret, Violets, Water, Moon and Water, The Trees, Meeting Wolf—express a deep adoration of nature. In Thinking of Swirler, which is one of my favorites, the poet sees a stag who isn’t afraid of her. The ending of this poem may talk to some of us who love the art of writing. “How did he know I was nothing // but a harmless mumbler of words…” Later on in the poem, she assumes or knows that, in a week, the stag will be hunted and killed by a young man she likes “with some difficulty,” and she ends the poem as: “In my house, there are a hundred half-done poems // Each of us leaves an unfinished life.”

Sometimes, the poet shows a sarcastic sense of humor as in Li Po and the Moon. Sometimes, she sings of joy for being alive, as in Then Bluebird Sang, Halleluiah, and It Was Early. Then sometimes, she expresses her thoughts and joys of being a poet, as in The Poet Always Carries a Notebook, If You Say It Right, It Helps the Heart to Bear It, A Lesson from James Wright, and I Want to Write Something So Simply.

Some of the poems have exquisite beginnings that awed me as in Empty Branch in the Orchard, “To have loved // is everything // I loved once, // // a hummingbird // who came every afternoon…”

Then Oliver also gets philosophical and spiritual in some of the poems. In “To Begin With, the Sweet Grass,” despite the poem’s preachy tone, reading it has been a delightful experience for me as the poem is, in fact, a message of love where the poet cajoles the reader to take notice of what is important. “Look and look again. // This world is not just a thrill for the eyes.” The poem ends with “And what do I risk to tell you this which is all I know // Love Yourself. Then forget it. Then Love the world.”

A similar feeling is also expressed in Evidence, the title poem. “Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable//… And consider always every day, the determination of the grass to grow despite the unending obstacles."

Then, the poet keeps musing on in At the River Clarion with “I don’t know who God is exactly //but I’ll tell you this…” Also in About Angels and About Trees she wonders, “how many can dance on the head of a pin?” and in Mysteries, Yes, she opines, “Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous // to be understood,” and I found myself nodding in agreement with “Let me keep my distance, always from those// who think they have the answers.”

Although in each poem, a hint of the personal always exists, in some of the poems, the poet talks mostly about herself as in I Am Standing, When I Was Young and Poor, Philip’s Birthday, I Want, First Days in San Miguel de Allende, Broken Unbroken, and in the last poem of the book, the poet touches on her mortality, as the poem begins with “Summer begins again // How many do I have?” and later, “just going to go out // to sleep // all this night // in some unnamed, flowered corner // of the pasture.”

Although I always love Mary Oliver’s work, I found this volume to be deeper in observation, feeling, and thought. There is some poetry in this volume that shouldn’t be missed.

everything.

is Mary Oliver.

I loved it and I hope others will, too.

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Created Jan 04, 2018 at 10:33pm • Submit your own review...