Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Poem by Mary Oliver Photography by Olivia Rae James.

I had nothing to lose and I had nothing to prove

Yesterday my friend met up with me during my lunch break to check out the Poetry Foundation's free exhibit, Images of Afghanistan.  The exhibit showcased landays, a form of oral folk poetry that is often one of the few forms of expression for women in Afghanistan. The exhibit is over now, but definitely check out the articles on Pulitzercenter.org because these poems should be read.

The exhibit was small and simple but informative.  What I really enjoyed was the space, the physical building of the Poetry Foundation. I had applied for an internship there a few years ago to no success so that's a little awkward now. But man, wouldn't it be amazing to work in that space. I will definitely have to come back during my lunch breaks to sit and read some Adrienne Rich in that library. Yep, Chicago has some gems.

Post title from I Wanna Go by Summer Heart.

To be idle and blessed

This weekend I picked rasberries and fed goats. 

Now a poem for you.

Tell me

Tell me, 
what is it you plan to do 
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver (The Summer Day)

Ode to junior year.

I am 
a series of
small victories
and large defeats
and I am as
amazed
as any other
that
I have gotten
from there to
here

-Charles Bukowski

Our past is pressing up against us

our hearts are off beat

and if we took just a moment to tune into the sound of our breath

we’d be able to hear our divinity

pulsing up our feet through the concrete streets of our cities

and we would remember

that we be stars brilliant suns that shine at high noon

earth shattering revelations eclipsed on the edge of new moons

but we give up too soon

leave our dreams dead and deferred on the side of a road

and forget that while our bodies may have been property

our souls could never be sold

that’s why we’re the greatest story ever told

—	Remember by Mayda del Valle

Wait in that space

there is a place in the heart that

will never be filled

a space

and even during the
best moments
and
the greatest times
times

we will know it

we will know it
more than
ever

there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
and

we will wait
and
wait

in that space.

- Charles Bukowski

I'll be here til the colors fade

My friend and I have recently started a wordpress for writing (Waiting for an Echo). Basically we are trying to write more. My friend Jody is actually quite talented, so do check it out. Side note, reading and writing writing poetry is extremely therapeutic. Everyone should do it.

Hope you enjoy your Wednesday! I be wishing I was outside in this beautiful weather instead of writing this paper.

Post title from Sing Loud by Alpha Rev. They are great live. Beautiful art by Richard Leach.