"That timeI thought I could notgo any closer to griefwithout dyingI went closer,and I did not die.Surely Godhad his hand in this,as well as friends.Still, I was bent,and my laughter,as the poet said,was nowhere to be found.Then said my friend Daniel,(brave even among lions), "It's not the weight you carrybut how you carry it -books, bricks, grief -it's all in the wayyou embrace it, balance it, carry itwhen you cannot, and would not,put it down.—So I went practicing.Have you noticed?Have you heardthe laughterthat comes, now and again,out of my startled mouth?How I lingerto admire, admire, admirethe things of this worldthat are kind, and maybealso troubled -roses in the wind,the sea geese on the steep waves,a loveto which there is no reply?"

Joy Healing Love Grief

From

Poet

Added on

About Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver was an American poet known for work on nature, spirituality, and everyday life. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award.

Born:

Died:

View all quotes from Mary Oliver