Poetry Thursday

Why I Wake Early

by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who make the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety-

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light-

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

It was purely luck that I came across this poem today, passing a bit of time in the poetry section of my library. I haven't read poetry in a long time, but the posts on Poetry Thursday have inspired me to tap into verse.

Why I Wake Early is the title poem of Ms. Oliver's volume published in 2004. Her bio says she is "one of the best selling poets in America," and she has been awarded the Pulizter Prize for Poetry as well as the National Book award. The poems in this collection speak to our awareness of the world around us, and the many ways it shapes our lives.

I awoke early to the sun myself today. Now late May in Michigan, that "dear star" has just begun to spread her lovely "warm touches" over us. It was worth waking early to see, and I did indeed start my day in happiness.