Mary Oliver's Devotions, and one special poem from it that I like...

Going to Adoration yesterday was really nice. I brought the Mary Oliver book, and in the time I was there in the half-light, I prayed some, and I read about 90 pages of poems that ask the reader to search out their relationship with nature, with their own inner self, and with a Creator greater than man can fathom. The poems are not preachy at all; instead, they focus the attention on the minute details of daily life. Birds, the clouds, all things in nature are the focus. If God is truly in all things, then why do we pass all things by looking for him? 

The poems sometimes remind me of reading Tu Fu in translation, focusing on intimate little curious moments, and then letting us go. At other times, the poems really recollect Whitman in his expansiveness, the all-inclusive wide-ranging "I" of his poems. I enjoyed all of them. I did not bring a pencil to mark any, but there's one in particular I dog-eared, titled "At the River Clarion." I found a nice reading of the poem to share with you here.

I hope you have a blessed day. 

C



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