Your friend is coming I say
to Percy, and name a name
and he runs to the door, his
wide mouth in its laugh-shape,
and waves, since he has one, his tail.
Emerson, I am trying to live,
as you said we must, the examined life.
But there are days I wish
there was less in my head to examine,
Not to speak of the busy heart. How
would it be to be Percy, I wonder, not
thinking, not weighing anything, just running forward.
Mary Oliver, Red Bird
Instructions for living a life:
Pat attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Mary Oliver, excerpt #4 from “Sometime”, Red Bird
