Poetry on Thursday

Winner 2020 Backyard Photo Contest, Birds & Blooms, Laurie Normandeau, Longmont, Colorado

I spent quite a bit of time this week searching for the first poem to use for Poetry on Thursday in 2021, but as soon as I read this, I knew it was the one. It has already helped me to build a bridge, to reach out and resolve a worrisome issue. Something happened that was better than all the riches in the world. 

Don't Hesitate
by Mary Oliver

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

You can read more about the poet here.

Oliver, Mary. "Don't Hesitate". Swan: Poems and Prose Poems, Beacon Press, 2010.

I wish you mindfulness, peace, good health, no hesitation when you feel joy, and some poetry as this week winds down.

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I wrote this on Wednesday before the violence unfolded at the Capitol, and I've debated this Thursday morning about whether to delete it or not. I decided to leave it, mainly because of these lines: 

There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left.

I don't have any appropriate words, but Mary Oliver almost always does. I still have to believe that life has possibilities left and if you feel joy, don't hesitate.