Thank you to my friend Joan who gave me a book I love dipping into:
Mary Oliver's What Do We Know: Poems and Prose Poems
If you click on that link, you can read a selection, from Google books.
From "Summer Poem"
...the white heron
like a dropped cloud,
taking one slow step
then standing while then taking
another, writing
her own soft-footed poem
through still waters.
"S
Sadly, my earliest attempts at poetry share none of her beauty and lyricism.
While packing, I uncovered this in a very old scrapbook. It was published in The Commercial Appeal when I was eleven. I share so no one reading this blog should be afraid to share, no matter how embarrassing your early efforts might be. It's all about revision, which I (obviously) didn't understand at age eleven.
I've learned a lot. Maybe not about poetry. But certainly about revising.
More Mary Oliver?
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2013/04/poem-of-day.html
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/05/writing-inspiration-bit-of-poem.html
You were published at age 11! You should celebrate. I remember my very first poem. "Spring is my favorite time of year/ when the sky is blue and clear." I thought poetry had to rhyme. Mary Oliver is dear to my heart. Her poetry speaks to me.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Mary Oliver! This is a beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing it here. Published at 11? I'm impressed.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Rosi and Margaret. Yes, published, but not exactly Oliver caliber...
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, fellow Mary Oliver fans!