No one can ruin Mary Oliver.
Not even his bluster
demanding me to
justify every feeling,
and every moment
of my existence
can take away
the tiniest gasp
of her breathless love affair
with all that is lovely
and alive.
She writes in a key
I know how to sing along to
and there I am
in love
with the world again,
remembering
this is why I keep singing.
Someone once asked me
where do I go
when it all presses in on me.
And of course, I answer, “books”,
but that’s only half the story.
The answer is
all the stories,
any story,
every word
that wakes me up to the fact
that joy still has places
it can take root in.
And no one can
sow joy
quite like she does.
Song Choice: Vivir La Vida, but especially how Maria Hinojosa is using it in this Instagram clip.
Liner Notes for This Groove: This poem is linked to Poets and Storytellers United's Friday Writing.
