Mary Oliver

Poet

Mary Oliver was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet known for her evocative nature poetry that explores themes of life, beauty, and human connection.

Born
December 10, 1935
Died
April 9, 2019
Quotes
280
Rank
#520

Quote collection

Mary Oliver quotes (page 12 of 14)

280 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Mary Oliver Poet
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"The poet dreams of the classroom I dreamed I stood up in class And I said aloud: Teacher, Why is algebra important? Sit down, he said. Then I dreamed I stood up And I said: Teacher, I’m weary of the turkeys That we have to draw every fall. May I draw a fox instead? Sit down, he said. Then I dreamed I stood up once more and said: Teacher, My heart is falling asleep And it wants to wake up. It needs to be outside. Sit down, he said."

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"And now my old dog is dead, and another I had after him, and my parents are dead, and that first world, that old house, is sold and lost, and the books I gathered there lost, or sold- but more books bought, and in another place, board by board and stone by stone, like a house, a true life built, and all because I was steadfast about one or two things: loving foxes, and poems, the blank piece of paper, and my own energy- and mostly the shimmering shoulders of the world that shrug carelessly over the fate of any individual that they may, the better, keep the Niles and Amazons flowing."

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"So every day So every day I was surrounded by the beautiful crying forth of the ideas of God, one of which was you."

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"Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood. How grass can be nourishing in the mouths of the lambs. How rivers and stones are forever in allegiance with gravity while we ourselves dream of rising."

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"A mind that is lively and inquiring, compassionate, curious, angry, full of music, full of feeling, is a mind full of possible poetry."

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"A dog comes to you and lives with you in your own house, but you do not therefore own her, as you do not own the rain, or the trees, or the laws which pertain to them ... A dog can never tell you what she knows from the smells of the world, but you know, watching her, that you know almost nothing. . ."

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"Isn’t it wonderful the way the world holds both the deeply serious, and the unexpectedly mirthful?"

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"When it's over I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real."

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"I do not live happily or comfortably With the cleverness of our times. The talk is all about computers, The news is all about bombs and blood. This morning, in the fresh field, I came upon a hidden nest. It held four warm, speckled eggs. I touched them. Then went away softly, Having felt something more wonderful Than all the electricity of New York City."

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"And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. Dogs die so soon. I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. It is almost a failure of will, a failure of love, to let them grow old-or so it feels. We would do anything to keep them with us, and to keep them young. The one gift we cannot give."

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"... the natural world is the old river that runs through everything, and I think poets will forever fish along its shores."

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"The man who has many answers is often found in the theaters of information where he offers, graciously, his deep findings. While the man who has only questions, to comfort himself, makes music."

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"Love, love, love, says Percy. And hurry as fast as you can along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust. Then, go to sleep. Give up your body heat, your beating heart. Then, trust."

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"Life is much the same when it's going well-- resonant and unremarkable. But who, not under disaster's seal, can understand what life is like when it begins to crumble?"

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"All my life I have been restless-- I have felt there is something more wonderful than gloss-- than wholeness-- than staying at home."

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"The challenge is to keep up with all the new poets at the same time I love the old ones."

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"I have trouble with some books because I'm so much in agreement with them I'd rather just sit in the grass myself."

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