Mary Oliver

As I read these poems and short essays I can notice a sense of emotions that is being exploited through the words of these poems.  It’s as though the writer of these poems is not just showing off her skills of writing but, trying to get the reader to engage and sense the same thing she is feeling. As I read I could not help but to imagine in my mind the many things she describes in these poems, just vividly paints a picture of nature with each stroke of her pen. You could also tell with each stroke of her pen she was not just heartlessly writing but writing with her heart and mind. Most poetry is comedic, romantic, or dramatic this type of poetry really catches me off guard, because it is inspired but what’s just outside. It’s funny how the very thing we drive by everyday and not give a second look to could inspire someone so much. It kind of makes me think do we as a culture and community really appreciate what’s outside are window, or are we just taking nature for granted and that’s why America is so poor in preserving our environment. Whatever the case is these poems really inspire me not just to look at nature at the surface level but to really dig deep to really uncover the beauty of nature that is hidden so deep inside. I love the spiritual aspect that is also incorporated in these poems, because it shows that even God is a tree hugger if I could say that, LOL! It shows that with prayer and nature you could really have a very sacred time of inspiration and devotion, by incorporated spirituality and nature. I love the line she uses in the Poem “The Uses of Sorrow”   “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness, It took me years to understand that this too was a gift” This line is so powerful words could not even explain what I think about this.  It makes me think that majority of the time we incorporate sunny days with thanksgiving but times of darkness we automatically assume its evil and not for our good, but sometimes God causes those storm so he could make us stronger