The Sun
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly
oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly
oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?
Poem by Mary Oliver
Please visit Carolyn Gail, Sweet Home and Garden Chicago to read other Muse Day poems.
Gail
Mary is my favorite poet. I can feel her poems. I don't have to guess at what she is thinking. She speaks my language better than I.
ReplyDeleteHello Gail girl .. I feel "that way" watching it rise just like I did this morning along with the magnificient moon that was still hanging in the sky .. I have never lost that sense of wonder ever since I was a little girl .. it is wonderful a poet can capture exactly how you feel : )
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pix and poetry! We need to remember to look up!
ReplyDeleteGreat poem and lovely shots of the sun...especially that pink one.
ReplyDeleteIt is sure good to see the sun --- we need it to dry out for a while.
Gorgeous sky shots Gail, and a beautiful poem to go with them.
ReplyDeleteHappy spring!
May Oliver certainly has a way of taking mundane, everyday things and helping us to see their beauty and wonder. And you took a photo of something as common as a sunset and made it very grand indeed (love that first photo). Mary speaks especially to those of us who enjoy the outdoors, anyway that is how I feel about her poems.
ReplyDelete...and how it slides again out of the blackness, every morning...
I love that phrase.
Marnie
A wonderful selection for GBMD, made all the lovelier by your gorgeous photos. Very nice, Gail!
ReplyDeleteMother Nature sure can paint a sky like no other!
ReplyDeleteFabulous choice, Gail. The poem says it all so wonderfully well. Now, that was the cue for the sun to come out here...
ReplyDeleteSpectacular sky photos -- with the perfect poem!
ReplyDeleteHope your weather is as glorious as ours today. Though, these high-80s do worry me as the plants are going to grow leaps and bounds before the danger of frost has passed.
Beautiful, Gail! Both photos are spectacular, but I do love that pink sky in the last one. Mary Oliver certainly has a way of capturing the feelings we have about such scenes and expressing them in such a beautiful way. The older I get, the less I worry about "things" and the more I appreciate the simple beauty around us.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a very happy Easter, Gail!
Beautiful photo Gail... and poem. I hope the day is filled with sunshine for you; we see a blue sky and are headed for what is important to us - more re-potting of vegetable seedlings in the greenhouse. ;) We wish you blessings and a happy Easter.
ReplyDeleteHello Gail,
ReplyDeleteLovely post.
I wonder if you had the thumb surgery that I was considering before moving from Chicago -
I've forgotten the term, and I known every surgeon has his own way of reconstructing... but was it your basal joint (or basal joint arthritis)?
Happy Spring to you!!
xo
Alice
Gail I loved reading this poem about how the sun makes us feel!
ReplyDeleteIt is so good to feel the warmth of the sun finally after our long winter...the plants feel the same.This weekend we should be experiencing lots of Sunshine!!
Have a wonderful Easter!
Mary Oliver is a wonderful poet - and no subject is more wonderful than the sun. I have been out cleaning up and weeding all day.
ReplyDeleteYour picture is just beautiful. I believe that clouds help to show how beautiful the light from the sun is, don't you?
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. Thank you for introducing me to that poem. My heart just soared as I read it and looked at your beautiful photos. :)
ReplyDeleteGail, this was not only a stunning post but what I needed to center down on today after shocking news of loosing an old dear friend. Besides this glorious spring weather we are enjoying, your photos and post fill my heart with hope for tomorrow ... Easter blessings, dear friend.
ReplyDeleteGail, I don't believe Mary Oliver herself could have picked better images to complement her poetry. Both are beautiful -- the first is so dramatic, and the second so lovely with the clouds tinted a delicate rose pink. I'm not sure "wow covers it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Thank you for introducing me to that poem.
ReplyDeleteWow Gail. If the skies like these don't stop you dead in your tracks maybe you're just DEAD. :) Or too frantic to enjoy life's simple pleasures. Nice!
ReplyDeleteLove the pink sky photo! :)
ReplyDelete