Home > Author > Mary Oliver >

" And there you are
on the shore,

fitful and thoughtful, trying
to attach them to an idea —
some news of your own life.
But the lilies

are slippery and wild—they are
devoid of meaning, they are
simply doing,
from the deepest

spurs of their being,
what they are impelled to do
every summer.
And so, dear sorrow, are you. "

Mary Oliver , New and Selected Poems, Volume One


Image for Quotes

Mary Oliver quote : And there you are<br /> on the shore,<br /><br />fitful and thoughtful, trying<br /> to attach them to an idea —<br /> some news of your own life.<br /> But the lilies<br /><br />are slippery and wild—they are<br /> devoid of meaning, they are<br /> simply doing,<br /> from the deepest<br /><br />spurs of their being,<br /> what they are impelled to do<br /> every summer.<br /> And so, dear sorrow, are you.