Sleeping in the Forest
I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
When reading this poem and class, I thought about how Mary Oliver put herself closer to nature. I found many different parts in this poem. For example, when she says, "she took me back so tenderly," Mary Oliver is referring to the Earth as a person. This is trying to make the Earth seem more as one with Mary Oliver. Also, relating to nature, the poet uses "kingdoms." This can have a double meaning. When reading the poem in class, I thought about a kingdom that little people would rule, but when thinking about it, the word kingdom could also mean animals (kingdom, phylum, etc.) Mary Oliver enjoyed putting herself one with nature and trying to interact the two. This poem does exactly that.
ReplyDeleteThe imagery in this poem is excellent. The words: "I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly" are calming and peaceful. Mary Oliver uses her words to give a fresh meaning to "being one with earth."
ReplyDeleteThis poem is obviously talking about death, no doubt about it. I really liked reading the description in the way it was described. "The Earth remembered me" sounds really good, because its as if the author believes we all come from the Earth and that we must all return back into the Earth.
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