wild geese

Yesterday I was up at 5 am to see my sister off - and instead of falling back asleep, I curled up on the couch by the window and watched the sunrise over the mountains. It was so beautiful and all I could think was: this happens EVERY SINGLE DAY. this beautiful cycle of new happens every single day.

when all day you talk about and learn about all the ways a heart can die, sometimes it's hard to remember all the ways a heart can leap. it's good to have reminders.

Wild Geese

by Mary Oliver

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 your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

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"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of the Imagination." -- John Keats