poety pause: Of Goodness :: mary oliver

 

© Rachel Giese Brown

Of Goodness

How good

that the clouds travel, as they do,

like the long dresses of the angels

of our imagination,

or gather in storm masses, then break

with their gifts of replenishment,

and how good

that the trees shelter the patient birds

in their thick leaves,

and how good that in the field

the next morning

red bird frolics again, his throat full of song,

and how good

that the dark ponds, refreshed,

are holding the white cups of the lilies

so that each is an eye that can look upward,

and how good that the little blue-winged teal

comes paddling among them, as cheerful as ever,

and so on, and so on.

-Mary Oliver

early june: books on books on books + coffee

a few from the current 10 reads

Coffee. Read. Write. Repeat.

Life has been bearing down on me and the current news cycle is enough to induce psychosis. You can find me for the next month hiding in between new and favorite old re-reads.

Television has been particularly uninteresting, and I'm just rewatching favorite shows when my brain can't take anymore information in.

Social media has felt like a site of dystopian reality as people seem to be going through life unscathed while I'm aware of so many who are struggling to exist- the juxtaposition is jarring- and unnerving. I'm doing all I can to keep my heart close to the source of truth (genocide, sadness, unjust policies affecting the lives of so many, etc.), and maintaining "balance" and sanity.

To that end... I have a stack of 10 current reads because any less and I feel bored and like something is missing (I can thank my overactive limbic system for this).

The coffee has been flowing. Perhaps a tad bit too much, perhaps I don't care. A new light roast has been my favorite with notes of strawberry and nutmeg. Poured over. Always black. Always first thing.

I am someone who has ignored the "don't drink coffee first thing and definitely not on an empty stomach". 

I happily sip my organic direct-trade bean juice within 15 minutes of daily consciousness without a morsel of vegan gluten-free food in sight. Alas, I'm surviving.

I won't let every single good thing be taken from me in this godforsaken life, but I digress.

What I'm reading is feeding a part of my soul- the tall order I ask of my literature- and I think I'll return to reviewing books here on this blog. I have so much to say about my current reads and I do write physical reviews for myself, but in hopes of inspiring someone to read these, I must share reviews here.

It's Saturday morning and I've had my coffee, journaled, read a poem (I read one poem per morning everyday), and am off to plan a quiet, literary day and choose a movie to watch tonight with my mom and daughter. 

Easy does it is today's motto. 

I hope you can find your way into a few chapters to escape the hell that is raining down globally or to merely find rest for your soul.

Chat soon ☕️ Happy reading.