Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was one of America’s most significant and best-selling poets. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Maple Heights, Mary was an “indefatigable guide to the natural world,” wrote Maxine Kumin. She passed away on January 17, 2019.

May

May, and among the miles of leafing,

blossoms storm out of the darkness—

windflowers and moccasin flowers. The bees

dive into them and I too, to gather

their spiritual honey. Mute and meek, yet theirs

is the deepest certainty that this existence too—

this sense of well-being, the flourishing

of the physical body—rides

near the hub of the miracle that everything

is a part of, is as good

as a poem or a prayer, can also make

luminous any dark place on earth.

— Mary Oliver