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My Mary Oliver Poems: #4 Just Lying on the Grass at Blackwater

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 This particular poem intrigued me due to the possible attraction to death that Mary Oliver describes. As humans, we often think of death as something dark, a process so foreign that we do not fully understand how it works until we undergo it ourselves. However, Oliver spins a different perspective on this inevitable human demise--she calls it the "glamour of death". Instead of seeing death as a painful affair, she opens our eyes to the connection we could possibly feel with nature. To be one with nature, "to be the green grass!--or maybe the pink rose, or the blue iris" would be a wonderful experience that only some people are fortunate enough to know.  This poem reminds me of Edward Abbey's statements regarding his opinions on death. He always explained how dying in the depths of nature is a privilege and something that he was quite jealous of. If he read this poem, I assume that he would agree with its positive ideas of becoming one with nature. Oliver goes o...
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My Mary Oliver Poems: #1 Whelks

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 One of Mary Oliver's poems that particularly resonated with me focuses on the effect that time has on nature. In this specific poem, Oliver recounts her daily walks along the shore and the wildlife that she encounters. Along the coast are beautiful, spotless creatures with shells that haven't been withered down by the forces of the ocean. However, Oliver always draws her attention towards the whelks. These snails' shells have been broken and cracked over the years, resulting in them losing their pristine appearance. Nevertheless, Oliver seeks out the whelks and ponders upon the time they have spent on Earth, subject to the uncontrollable forces that exist.  My favorite line of this poem is, "I have been restless--I have felt there is something more wonderful than wholeness--than staying at home". Oliver metaphorically compares her life to the wildlife among the shore. In life, she can either stay at home and remain untouched, or spent her time outside enjoying wh...
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Nature Journal #1: Inks Lake

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      In class last week, we discussed "Luther Standing Bear" from The Norton Book of Nature Writing  by Robert Finch and John Elder. In this reading, Standing Bear shares the experiences of the Lakota people and how their unique view on nature allows them to live a peaceful and content life. By living lives full of gratitude towards Earth, they are able to appreciate nature. This specific reading reminds me of my experience working at a camp on Inks Lake in Burnet, Texas.     Before working at this camp, I had only ventured to Fort Worth and Dallas in Texas. I was nervous for the three hour long drive in a state I was not yet familiar driving in. However, I was surprised by the ease of driving through remote areas without a city in sight. I found the drive to be peaceful, but very repetitive after a while. There was no variability in the type of environment I saw. It consistently of flat, grassless land with the occasional farm with some ca...
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