Mary Oliver – Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings

Is the soul solid like iron?

In my previous post I shared D.H. Lawrence’s poem Humming-bird when the poet was pondering “some otherworld Primeval-dumb, far back” “Before anything had a soul” As I read his poem I recalled the poem by Mary Oliver in which she asks in the opening line “Is the soul solid, like iron? Somewhere between Lawrence’s imaginationContinue reading “Is the soul solid like iron?”

“a silence in which another voice may speak”

Mary Oliver’s poems abound in their simplicity and in their calling attention to notice what is there right in front of us. Throughout much of her poetry there is brevity and beauty. Her daily walks in the woods or along the shoreline never seemed to fail to give her words to put on paper. TheContinue reading ““a silence in which another voice may speak””

Accept the miracle

Tabgha is the name of a site on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus appeared after his resurrection (John 21), and where he earlier multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the crowds gathered to hear him teach. The present church preserves within some of its walls remains of a church that stood hereContinue reading “Accept the miracle”

A Cord of Wood!

It’s that time of year once again. As the days turn a little colder and as leaves fall from the trees the sound emerges in the neighborhood of wood being chopped and stacked. Wood burning fires inside and out, are being prepared to offer welcome and warmth as the nights draw in! Many years agoContinue reading “A Cord of Wood!”

Is the soul solid, like iron?

I love this photograph. Many years ago when I stopped on the Isle of Mull, on my way to Iona, there they were, in plain view and in hiding. I was reminded right away of that gospel parable of the shepherd who had 100 sheep and one went missing. The shepherd searched and searched untilContinue reading “Is the soul solid, like iron?”

Nothing Fancy

A few weeks ago the leaders of the G7 gathered for their summit in Cornwall, the southwest corner of England. I recalled a walking holiday a few years ago along the coastal paths of Cornwall. Some days the path stayed fairly close to the coast and other days it took turns inland and uphill asContinue reading “Nothing Fancy”

The Summer Day

In my last post I mentioned I would be staying with the poems of Mary Oliver for a few days. Her poem The Summer Day ends with the often quoted last two lines. Yet don’t be in any hurry to arrive there, enjoy her every word. The poem begins with the questions we have allContinue reading “The Summer Day”

Sunflowers

Although I’m “not in Kansas anymore” I can recall the surprise and delight of the hot summer days and the wide wide prairies, and the sight of fields and fields of sunflowers. The contrast of the wide horizons of the prairies from the smaller, tighter space of Scotland took much adjustment. In fairness though, bothContinue reading “Sunflowers”