Wild Geese

Wild Geese
Mary Oliver
 
“You only have to let the soft animal of your body / love what it loves.” 
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.

61,368 Replies to “Wild Geese”

  1. Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better! Going through this
    post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about
    this. I’ll forward this information to him.
    Fairly certain he’ll have a very good read.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Look into my blog post … fuel tank truck

  2. May I simply just say what a relief to discover
    someone that really understands what they’re discussing on the internet.
    You certainly realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important.
    More people should check this out and understand this side of your
    story. It’s surprising you aren’t more popular since you certainly possess the gift.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *