Monday 22 September 2008

Sun

How I love the sun at this time of year, as the seasons slowly change. Unbroken sunshine, lasting not just hours, but days, has been a real delight. And so unexpected. I think we'd all given up on it, hadn't we?


Walking down to the beach to catch the sun going down, seeing it bathe my little town in its warm glow.


Feeling the chill in the air as we reach the autumn equinox. Enjoying and observing the changes in nature as the trees shed their leaves and once again they are reduced to their bare bones. I have been re-acquainting myself with the poetry of Mary Oliver. Her poems have a deep connection to nature and spirit - her collection Wild Geese is a great place to start if you want to read more. Here is one of her poems that has particularly resonated this weekend.

The Sun

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful

than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats towards the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone -
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance -
and have you ever felt for anything

such wild love -
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed -
or have you too
turned from this world -

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

Mary Oliver

12 comments:

ginny said...

feeling the warm sun on my face is one of the most deeply satisfying things for me... it is difficult to explain but it makes me feel so alive and makes me stop still and quiet..and allows me to soak in the moment...it also grounds me and connects me to to universe and the larger picture of life.

did i just write that?....now you know i am a hippy!
with love (and sunshine) ginny xx

Gina said...

What a beautiful poem. It really sums up the past few days.

Pipany said...

Lovely poem Diana. Don't know her work but will look her up. The sun has been just wonderful hasn't it? It makes me feel so different about everything. More positive and creative and sort of how Ginny said. Perhaps we're all hippies at heart! Hope you have a good week xx

Tilly said...

We've been making the most of the lovely sunshine with some fabulous country walks. Nothing better than the sun on your skin!

kristina said...

Thank you so much for reminding me how much I love Mary Oliver. I haven't read her poetry since university, and now I really must go track down a volume. And I agree the autumn sun is amazing. K x

Heart in the country said...

I'm glad you enjoyed a the great weekend weather as well Diana. The sea looks a bit choppy though.

dottycookie said...

Wasn't it wonderful to feel the sun? Such a lovely poem - thank you.

alice c said...

Thank you for the wonderful photo of the promenade. How I long to be in Cornwall - if you are Cornish the need never leaves you.

Irene said...

That's a beautiful poem. Thank you for bringing her to my attention. It is so easy to dismiss a poem and to not take the time to really read it well, but so rewarding when you do. I find that, the simpler the language, the lovelier the poem.

Meadowlark Days said...

thank you for sharing the poem! and the photos!

Tracy x said...

just catching up with your news..... your painted sea glass and pebbles have completely stolen my heart
so beautiful x
t x

Sally Anne said...

Thank you so much for sharing the poem.I am going to find out more about Mary Oliver and see if our local library has any of her work. I loved "The Sun".