Friday, March 7, 2014

Prayer


I happened upon a poem today -- "Praying," by Mary Oliver --  and although I had read it at least once before, this time it truly spoke to me, as if it were calling me by name.  It surely speaks to how I respond to nature, and to the Great Goodness that lies at the heart of creation and surrounds us everywhere.  I was especially struck by this coincidence: that the three specific images Oliver names in her poem are exactly those that have also many times stunned me into silence and reverence.  I post a fourth image here, too, of sunlight rippling across underwater sand, a play of color and light as gorgeous as any stained-glass window in church. It brings me exquisite joy and profound gratitude each time I gaze on it.  As does Mary Oliver with her poetry,  I hope that the words and images I post on my blog would be my own way of praying.


Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris,  it could be




weeds in a vacant lot, or a few






small stones, just



pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.



From Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver,  Beacon Press, 2006

6 comments:

  1. I am a big fan of Mary Oliver and love her poems. Your photos are fantastic and the poem you picked pairs beautifully. A marvelous post, thank you :)

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  2. Beautiful selection of photos to go with beautiful words.

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  3. This post reminds me of the pre-mastectomy day that I had the biopsy. All Poor Me until I looked around and saw, with different eyes, the beauty all around me.

    Your marriage of poetry and photos is superb.

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  4. Couldn't be better said. Your rich experience of the outdoors is prayer. I could say more but needn't.

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  5. beautiful, beautiful post -
    I have stood beside you for at least one of those photos - filled with the same feelings of gratefulness - how wonderful to share it

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  6. Oh, my dear readers, I am so glad that you liked this post and this poem. Mary Oliver's poetry speaks so directly to me, reminding me that "my work is loving the world," and teaching me that I do this by "mostly standing still and learning to be astonished."

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