13 Feb
2015
Posted in: Poems
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How Would You Live Then?

I’m in the mood for a little Mary Oliver this morning:

How Would You Live Then?

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
flew in circles around your head? What if

the mockingbird came into the house with you and
became your advisor? What if

the bees filled your walls with honey and all
you needed to do was ask them and they would fill

the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
past your bedroom window so you could listen

to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
the stars began to shout their names, or to run

this way and that way above the clouds? What if
you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves

began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw

that the silver of water was brighter than the silver
of money? What if you finally saw

that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
and every day–who knows how, but they do it–were

more precious, more meaningful than gold? 

***

(image by Peter Attie Bochero, from Outsider Art)

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