Chels

In the circles I’m in online, I see a lot of Mary Oliver poems, as well as art and writing inspired by her works. So I was surprised when during a get to know each other game in my poetry module, my lecturer said that her name was rarely mentioned. I’ve chalked it up to her being more popular in the USA than the UK, because whenever I’m in any kind of poetry sphere online her works are mentioned consistently. So, in the spirit of trying to make her less rarely mentioned, and because the lovely spring weather has had me outside in nature more, this week I want to talk about Mary Oliver’s poems and the beautiful way she captures nature.

It’s no surprise, really, that I love Oliver’s works so much – they really capture the Romantic theme of nature and the sublime, and I’m always drawn to Romantic era prose and poetry. The sublime refers to beautifully written passages that depict nature as awe-inspiring, and often relate the beauty of nature to human feeling and understanding. In Oliver’s case, her poems weave together comfort and reassurance with intricate depictions of the small wonders of nature, in an almost domestic or comforting sublime, if such a concept exists. It’s hard not to have an emotional response to reading them – or, in fact, hearing them. Oliver’s works stand out to me as especially enjoyable to listen to, almost like a lullaby.

Wild Geese

Probably the most famous of all her works (again, at least based on my experiences online), Wild Geese is a reminder that life goes on. We don’t have to be perfect, or even especially good, rather, we just have to try and enjoy life, and find comfort in the reliability of nature. The geese will always migrate, the sun will shine, and the rain will fall.

I think a large part of the comfort of the poem is the direct address to the reader. The poem begins ‘You do not have to be good. / You do not have to walk on your knees / For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.’ immediately offering reassurance to the reader. In times of despair and frustration, turning to Wild Geese has given me a sense of calm. It almost captures the idea that our lives are small in the grand scheme of things, a kind of existential nihilism, but without the negative implications that whatever we do is meaningless. It’s more of a comforting thought – less your good deeds have no impact, more your errors can be forgiven, if that makes sense. Oliver also associates us, the reader, with nature, with the phrase ‘the soft animal of your body’. This builds the connection between the reader and the calming influence of nature in the poem. 

You can read Wild Geese here.

I Worried

I Worried similarly tackles the speaker’s (and to an extent, the reader’s) anxieties, while depicting a markedly more domestic natural scene. Tackling both poems together, Wild Geese could almost be a response to I Worried. (It’s not – I Worried was written almost 25 years after Wild Geese, which demonstrates just how prominent these themes were throughout Oliver’s career.)

In I Worried, the speaker’s worries are directly linked to scenes of nature – their worries about their own life are woven in with worries about nature continuing as it should – worries that are quelled in Wild Geese. There’s a sense of personal responsibility in the lines ‘will the earth turn

/ as it was taught, and if not how shall / I correct it?’. This is possibly alluding to the climate crisis, and how now 25 years on from Wild Geese, there is sadly less certainty that the geese will migrate in the same routine, the sun may not shine when we expect it to, and the rain can be unpredictable. Perhaps, then, I Worried is a revision of Wild Geese. Where the latter reassures us with certainty and routine, I Worried poses the possibilities that things will not happen as expected.

Ultimately, though, Oliver does not leave us with a pessimistic outlook. In the final stanza, the speaker gives up on worrying, and instead goes out into nature and sings.

It’s a similar attitude to that of Wild Geese. Rather than the impact of our actions, I Worried urges the reader that although things could go wrong, and nothing really can be done to prevent these things, worrying also cannot change the outcome.

You can read I Worried here.

There are so many Mary Oliver poems that are so impactful in regards to mental wellbeing, as well as serving as reminders to appreciate nature. In honour of Mary Oliver and the lovely spring weather we’ve had, I think this week we should try and pay more attention to the world around us. Listen for birds singing, keep an eye out for freshly blooming flowers, or even just enjoy the feeling of fresh air. Take care.