Marry Oliver

I missed last night's poetry reading due to theatre practice. So I thought I would post in some form of participation. I am at the moment discovering Mary Oliver thanks to my friends (Mari in particular). The poem below I encountered in our recent church retreat. When it comes to poetry in my mind sometimes the less said the better, so I will simply let her words stand.

Messenger
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflower, there the hummingbird--
Equal seekers of sweetness
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the calm deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half perfect? Let me
Keep my mind on what matters,
Which is my work,

Which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
And these body-clothes,
A mouth with which to give shouts of joy
To the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
Telling them all, over and over, how it is
That we live for ever.