Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Place I Want to Get Back To

is where
in the pinewoods
in the moments between
darkness

and first light
two deer
came walking down the hill
and when they saw me

they said to each other, okay,
this one is okay,
let’s see who she is
and why she is sitting

on the ground, like that,
so quiet, as if
asleep, or in a dream,
but, anyway, harmless;

and so they came
on their slender legs
and gazed upon me
not unlike the way

I go out to the dunes and look
and look and look
into the faces of the flowers;
and then one of them leaned forward

and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life
bring to me that could exceed
that brief moment?
For twenty years

I have gone every day to the same woods,
not waiting, exactly, just lingering.
Such gifts, bestowed,
can’t be repeated.

If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.

--Mary Oliver

5 comments:

Dianna Woolley said...

Such nice poetry, a lovely scene of lying still enough for 2 deer to approach - a wildly beating heart should have been enough to frighten them away:)

Familiar chair, familiar corner - new paint?

xoxo

lucy said...

the chair lives down the street :-)

hmmbrd said...

Happy Thanksgiving!! two deer came up to me (not that close, tho) and watched me also just a few weekends ago. I felt blessed.. especially as they seemed to agree i was safe. for a brief moment their big dark eyes said 'you are okay' and i felt it and agreed. nice.

storyteller said...

Lovely setting to savor Mary Oliver's poetry. Thanks for sharing ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Kayce aka lucy said...

hmmbrd--you are very special indeed (which i already knew). you are MORE THAN OKAY!!! love you!

storyteller--you are most welcome :-)