Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Smells Like Euphoria


This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
and they open —
pools of lace,
white and pink —
and all day the black ants climb over them,
boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away
to their dark, underground cities —
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,
the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding
all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,







and there it is again —
beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.


Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?
Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,
with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

from New And Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

17 comments:

  1. beautiful....pictures and word...they are so beautiful

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  2. I love Peonies, even though they make me sneeze the flowers only last a bit.

    I once ripped out one out while it still looked like a weed. I think that may be why my first wife left me.

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  3. Thank you, i needed a moment to stop and breathe and take in something beautiful.

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  4. One of my favorite flowers.
    Your pictures
    as always
    beautiful
    and your words
    "always make me think"

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  5. I was not familiar with that poem and I am so pleased that you made it known. Beautiful! as are the peony photos.

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  6. Peonies are so lovely, and so fleeting.

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  7. You chose some awesome poems to go along with your photos.

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  8. If I hurried half dressed to smell the peonies, my neighbors would either a) collapse with laughter b)run and hide in their rooms or c) call 911.

    I have not checked in two days, but I have nothing yet on my peony plants.

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  9. I do know Peonies and the poet's first line "This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready to break my heart" had sincere meaning for me.

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  10. Oh, I do like that.

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  11. Wonderful, as in filled with wonder am I. So beautiful.

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  12. Such beautiful blooms.

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  13. I love peonies. So beautiful. Gorgeous pics. Love the poem too.

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  14. I absolutely adore this post, Tabor, have always loved Mary Oliver, and your peonies are sublime.

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  15. Anonymous9:48 PM

    Oh, I wish we had peonies here. So beautiful!

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  16. Beautiful flowers and beautiful poem too.
    You took great photos, Tabor.

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  17. These are such gorgeous photos of peonies. Wow!

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Glad to hear from you once again. I really like these visits. Come sit on this log and tell me what you are thinking.