In this collection, Mary Oliver focuses on the immediate physical world of the Blackwater Woods and the shorelines of Provincetown. She details specific encounters with the natural landscape, observing the heavy movement of bears, the stillness of hummingbirds, and the patient growth of trees. The poems function as a series of instructions on paying attention to silence and the behavior of wild animals. Oliver contrasts the frantic pace of modern human activity with the steady, cyclical endurance of the earth, often using the imagery of blue horses to represent a sense of imaginative wonder that exists outside of human logic.
This book is for readers seeking a practice of mindfulness through the observation of nature. People return to these poems to learn how to slow down and notice the shifts in seasons or the details of a single leaf. The reader finishes the collection with a heightened awareness of their surroundings and a renewed commitment to quiet contemplation. It serves as a guide for those who want to look at the world with precision and find a sense of belonging within the natural environment rather than standing apart from it.
Deep, inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2014
- Language
- EN
