I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’ll take it.”ġ0. “You can have the other words-chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. “I simply do not distinguish between work and play.”ĩ. “Keep some room in your heart for the Unimaginable”Ĩ. “But little by little,/ as you left their voices behind,/ the stars began to burn/ through the sheets of clouds,/ and there was a new voice/ which you slowly/ recognized as your own,/ that kept you company/ as you strode deeper and deeper/ into the world,/ determined to do/ the only thing you could do –/ determined to save/ the only life you could save.”ħ. I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing,Ħ. “I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. “Listen – are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”ĥ. “I tell you this/ to break your heart, /by which I mean only/ that it break open and never close again/ to the rest of the world.”Ĥ. “You do not have to be good./ You do not have to walk on your knees/ for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting./ You only have to let the soft animal of your body/ love what it loves.”ģ.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ with your one wild and precious life?”Ģ. If you need a little magic in your day, here are 20 Mary Oliver quotes to live by:ġ. Her deep sense of wonder, natural imagery, and accessible language invite readers from all walks of life to enter in.

Most people don’t read poetry these days, but Mary Oliver seems to attract an audience that touches every diversity.

Since then I have reread Oliver’s books dozens of times, I have gifted them to countless friends, and quoted her on Instagram at a shockingly high volume. It rattled my insides and verbalized truths I needed to hear. I was 18 and read it cover to cover on my bed that night. I can remember the first time I bought a Mary Oliver book at a little bookstore in San Francisco. Something in my chest would flicker like a lighter before the flame. I’d grab a few of the best looking covers and pour over the words. I was that odd, artsy girl in high school who sat cross-legged in the poetry section of Barnes and Noble.

Mary oliver the journey