Saturday, April 27, 2013

Mary Oliver: "I Worried"


I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.



"I Worried" by Mary Oliver, from Swan: Poems and Prose Poems. © Beacon Press, 2010.

Image credit: detail of a mixed media painting entitled "Red Dress Dancing," by Anna Oneglia, © 2000 (originally color).

 

10 comments :

  1. I love the site but oh, the orange type is difficult for aging eyes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll see if I can make an appropriate change to the orange, which was the color pre-selected in the template for links. Links should be about the only orange text on the site, unless your browser is distorting something(?). Thanks for the feedback!

      Delete
    2. I just checked into changing the orange text. Unfortunately I can't due to a technical problem within Blogger. My regrets. If the orange is too hard to read, you might want to considering following by email. Be well.

      Delete
    3. I worried about the orange :)

      Delete
    4. Part of the problem with the orange type is the background. Although I love the graphic design with the grass fronds, it makes it harder to see the orange.

      Delete
    5. I love the direction that these words take me. :)

      Delete
    6. Orange for a spiritual mind.

      Delete
  2. I never did make the earth stop spinning. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do what you can. Why worry as worrying makes situation only worse.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for participating respectfully in this blog's community of readers.