A Poetic Approach to 2025
My Fav Mary Oliver Poem & A Homily
I’m wondering how you’re feeling about the year ahead? A new year brings a host of thoughts to the forefront of our minds. I have high hopes for 2025, ideas and images are brewing but I’m yet to make resolutions and goals. I haven’t felt ready to write anything down. Whether you’re feeling ready or not I want to offer you encouragement and share a Mary Oliver poem, happens to be one of my favs. It’s a good poem to sit with at the start of a new year.
The Gift
Be still, my soul, and steadfast.
Earth and heaven both are still watching
though time is draining from the clock
and your walk, that was confident and quick,
has become slow.
So, be slow if you must, but let
the heart still play its true part.
Love still as once you loved, deeply
and without patience. Let God and the world
know you are grateful.
That the gift has been given.
~From Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary OliverHomily
This poem strikes me as a word of admonishment, written in second person, Oliver addresses the reader directly offering gentle but powerful insight.
The last line leads us to wonder about the gift! What is the gift that’s been given? The poem doesn’t explicitly say, poems show us through metaphors, images, and vivid descriptions.
We see in this poem the image of a clock…Earth and heaven both are still watching though time is draining from the clock and your walk, that was confident and quick, has become slow. Oliver attaches ordinary, everyday time and draws our attention to earth and heaven. Earth and heaven both are still watching. There’s a feeling of anticipation in this line, the overall tone is graceful and motivating, the word watching ought to be viewed in a positive light.
When reading this poem, I imagine, earth and heaven as witnesses watching us with care and attention. Perhaps anticipating with excitement what each of us will do with the gift we’ve been given. Curiously invested in the way we live our lives. Both wanting us to succeed and seize the opportunities in front of us. Rising to meet the challenges of our time.
Whether young or old, if we are breathing and have a pulse Oliver admonishes us that there’s still time to play our part. Even if our motivation lags behind. This poem is especially meaningful for the old, who feel their energy is narrowing. So, be slow if you must, but let the heart still play its true part. Love still as once you loved, deeply and without patience.
The power of this poem is in its simplicity. As it inspires further reflection for the reader to imagine for themselves; discover what their purpose and role is and let the heart lead the way.
When you think about the year ahead…what does your heart want to do? What are you most excited about? What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? What will bring you more peace and joy? Oliver admonishes us…do more of that!
She would also say…whatever you do in life, do it with love, deep love, and don’t wait another day. Our time here is too short to delay what matters most.
Lastly, live with gratitude. Let God and the world know you are grateful that the gift has been given. How do we show we are grateful? Through words and actions, the life we lead. Oliver would admonish us to align all we do with our hearts…
to let the heart play its true part!
Since it’s all a gift to begin with, the days we have on earth, and the opportunity we have to artfully create our lives…live with gratitude.
Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed this share it with a friend!
This poem and homily really resonate with this new year. I've noticed a lot of discourse this month about turning points or about easing into things and being gentle and both of those threads seem at home in these themes of watching and anticipation.
This is a favorite of mine as well from Oliver. Her poems always cause me to reflect. I love your insights leading into the New Year. I’ve recently learned that gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist in the mind, what a miraculous thing! Love and gratitude are at the forefront of themes for my year as well.