Monday, September 3, 2018

A POEM ON THE GRASS GROWING

On Not Mowing the Lawn
by 
Mary Oliver
 From her book of poems,
"Blue Horses"



Let the grass spring up tall, let its roots sing
And the seeds begin their scattering.
Let the weeds rejoin and be prolific throughout.
Let the noise of the mower be banished, hurrah!
Let the path become where I choose to walk, and not otherwise established.
Let the goldfinches be furnished their humble dinner.
Let the sparrows determine their homes in security.
Let the honeysuckle reach as high as my window, that it may look in.
Let the mice fill their barns with a sufficiency.
Let anything created,
 that wants to creep or leap forward, be able to do so.  
Let the grasshopper have gliding space.
Let the noise of the mower be banished, yes, yes.
Let the katydid return and announce himself in the long evenings.
Let the blades of grass surge back from the last cutting.
Or if you want to be poetic, the leaves of grass.




40 comments:

  1. I like this, Denise, especially as I have just sown grass seed in a valiant attempt to hide the recent upheaval in the garden.

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    1. I'm hoping you will soon have your lawn back Valerie :)

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  2. Such stirring words but impossible keep as long as humankind is here to snip, tidy and creep throughout the globe. :)

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    1. I know Penelope but it's nice to dream of things growing wild for a while :)

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  3. I love it and agree 100 percent...

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    1. Thank you Sandra, there are days I would like to grow everything wild just to see what critters I could attract :)

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  4. LOL, my hubby would like to live by this poem and never cut our grass. It is not his favorite thing to do. Happy Labor Day, have a great new week ahead!

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    1. A good many hubbys I'm thinking Eileen :) I hope you had a great Labor Day and happy weekend to you.

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  5. Great poem embracing a bit of wildness in letting the grass grow.

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  6. This most definitely sings to me. Thank you.

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  7. I love love love it! How on earth did you find it? I just read it to Phil, because he loves mowing and well manicured lawns. This makes letting nature take over a complete joy! I like your picture too. Kind of the view from a little creature. Perfect! Let the mower BREAK!

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    1. I have several books of Mary Oliver's poetry Ginny and have always been a fan of her nature poems especially. Glad you enjoyed my post :)

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  8. Lovely poem and I'm looking out at our son's lawn which is long overdue for mowing...or not :)

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  9. Mary Oliver knew a lot of good things about the native world.

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  10. I am all for seeds growing especially on a now empty patch!

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    1. And I hope that patch is growing nicely Valerie :)

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  11. Hihi ... we used to let these grasses crawl through our trouser legs as a child.
    Nice pictures of this grass.

    Greetings, Helma

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    1. That's a very nice memory Helma and thank you :)

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  12. I love the creativity of the poem, but have to admit that when I see lots of tall grass, I immediately think of snakes lying in wait(lol) From a distance, the tall blades blowing in the wind are lovely. Hugs...and Happy Tuesday! RO

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    1. Good and bad things in everything I guess RO :) Happy weekend to you.

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  13. Beautiful words. Enjoy your day Diane

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  14. A pretty spot, full of history and memory. A lovely poem!

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  15. Hello Denise,
    Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful poem. I love it.
    Enjoy your September :D) xx

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    1. You are very welcome Sue, glad you enjoyed and I wish you the happiest of September.

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  16. "Let the goldfinches be furnished their humble dinner.
    Let the sparrows determine their homes in security." AMEN <3

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  17. Hi Denise,
    Wonderful words and image.
    The Lord was talking to St John and said how are the humans on Earth getting on with the trees I covered the Earth with.
    Well said St John they are actually cutting them down and sowing grass and cutting it and keeping it tidy.
    Why did I bother to try and help said the Lord.
    All the best, John

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    1. Thanks for sharing that John, something I will remember. All the best to you :)

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