Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Reflection for March 18, 2009


                I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life 

Love, love, love says Percy.
And run as fast as you can
Along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.


                             I Will Try

I will try.
I will step from the house to see what I see
And hear and I will praise it.
I did not come into this world
To be comforted.
I came, like the red bird, to sing.
But I'm not red bird, with his head-mop of flame
And the red triangle of his mouth
Full of tongue and whistles,
But a woman whose love has vanished,
Who thinks now, too much, of roots
And the dark places
Where everything is simply holding on.
But this too, I believe, is a place
Where God is keeping watch
Until we rise, and step forth again and ---
But wait. Be still. Listen!
Is it red bird? Or something
Inside myself, singing!

From Red Bird, Poems by Mary Oliver