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Sandra Williams offers a favorite Mary Oliver poem.
The Swan
~ Mary Oliver
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
Sunny, with a high of 63 and low of 48 degrees. Sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon and evening, clear overnight.
Not badly done for a former journalism teacher and school newspaper advisor. Thank G_d there was no need for collating or paste-ups.
Interesting, Bob. Thanks, but I wonder how that related to people’s probably very strong religiously beliefs back then —-not the fact that there’s evil, but that there’s some kind of symbol that can stop it; that sounds more like witchcraft.
Religion and superstition have always co-existed. For an example, see any devout Christian in the area who also has a "lucky" Eagles jersey, or believes that wearing their baseball cap inside out will help a rally keep going...