For the Love of Mary

In Honor of Mary Oliver

For a moment, I thought I heard you, at twilight, last night… …in the symphony of frogs, performing a concerto in the muddy low banks of the river…

where, in the softly-waving shallows, the veil of the moon trailed across the water, trembling like a nervous bride to all of nature.

Or maybe, I saw you in the flickering breast of a hummingbird, or the fuzz of the belly of a bee.

For your words are with me, always….

Mary, you did not end up simply as a visitor to this world, but rather, you breathed with her and you exhaled your poems to us.

What you did with your one wild and precious life, rippled out to touch so many quivering souls, so many hearts which both longed to understand the great mystery of this world…

…and those who just wanted to be touched by it — to have their beating hearts held in your tender hands as you showed them sufi dancers, trout lilies, and daffodils.

Through you, we could hear the trills of the wild loon and the croon of the lilting moon.

We slept all night on the forest floor with nothing between us and the white fire of the stars.

We floated with you, light as moths, rising and falling before vanishing into something better.

I am certain that, like the mockingbird, I am the thief of other words…

…your words and passions.

For I could not help but experience awe through your eyes.

But, I also hope that I have waited long enough to find the softer side of my own voice too.

I think of you when I watch my cats slumber in the sun… and I wonder if they are praying, like the sunflower, or the old black oak, or the wren in the privet.

You said you were looking for God in the dust, in the flowerbeds and oceans.

And I wonder…

what does She look like to you now?

Erika Burkhalter 2019

*Although I never met her, Mary Oliver has been my “guru” for as long as I can remember. Her ability to transport her readers into the essence of “nature spirituality,” and to inspire a deep, throbbing longing to touch the ephemeral moments in life ignited a fire in me. I have no doubt that my words today are heavily influenced by her. The world suffered a great loss when she moved on earlier this year. But, she left behind a lifetime of teachings, which we can return to over and again, finding new meaning in her words with each reading. Thank you, Mary Oliver, for living your “one wild and precious life,” with such intensity and passion.*

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Poem and photos ©Erika Burkhalter. All rights reserved.