Daily Reflection | Connected in Christ

Friday, August 4, 2023

Messenger

Mary Oliver

 

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-

               equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in 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 forever.