A Spring Tapestry

Of Mary Oliver's words, my photographs, and solitude

HOW I GO TO THE WOODS
By Mary Oliver

Ordinarily I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.
~~~
If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.

LONELINESS
By Mary Oliver

I too have known loneliness.
I too have known what it is to feel
     misunderstood
     rejected, and suddenly
Not at all beautiful.
Oh, mother earth,
     your comfort is great, your arms never withhold.
It has saved my life to know this.
Your rivers flowing, your roses opening in the morning.
Oh, motions of tenderness!

PRAYING
By Mary Oliver

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones, just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

---

TRUSTING NATURE

The black vultures returned for their fifth season more than a month ago. By the end of February, I began to worry. There should have been eggs. The mating continued. My concern manifested in the next-day delivery of a cellular trail cam.

No eggs.

No eggs. More mating…

The first egg appeared March 7th, 6:47pm.

The second egg dropped March 10th, 6:18am.

Now the parents manage their 24-hour shifts brooding the eggs, reliably relieving each other every day between 10 am and Noon.

I watch and wait. In approximately 38-40 days the eggs will hatch…hopefully both do! It’s rare for black vultures to lay three eggs, but if that happens, it would likely be in the next 24 hours.

The couple has laid two eggs every year since 2020, but only in 2022 did both hatch.

Here’s to waiting and watching…the black vultures in my barn and the hollow of spring ephemerals that I call home. And finding comfort in Mary Oliver’s words while I wrestle with my own.

THE VULTURE’S WINGS
By Mary Oliver

The vulture’s
wings are
black death
color but
the underwings
as sunlight
flushes into
the feathers
are bright
are swamped
with light.
Just something
explainable by
the sun’s
angle yet
I keep
looking I
keep wondering
standing so 
far below
these high
floating birds
could this
as most
things do
be offering
something for
us to
think about
seriously?

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