{"id":3526,"date":"2020-06-05T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T04:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2020-06-05T10:01:42","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T14:01:42","slug":"june-5-city-sculpture-and-mary-oliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2020\/06\/05\/june-5-city-sculpture-and-mary-oliver\/","title":{"rendered":"June 5 – City Sculpture and Mary Oliver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, June 5 \u2014 \u201cyou had better get \/ your eyes checked \/ or, better, still, \/ your diminished spirit\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

How many encounters could I remember if I worked at it, when someone took the trouble to tell me, bluntly and lovingly, to pay attention to the way I was not paying attention? \u2014 An old Lakota grandmother when I was just 24, her eyes alight with humor, knowing that I was just young. An older Jesuit telling me that I\u2019d pushed too hard, this new priest daunting the congregation unnecessarily. An atheist scholar friend observing that when I spoke the first time at MIT, \u201cthe authority from which you spoke did not include the people in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

This list is long and deeply refreshing, the people who took the trouble to be allies to me. Their voices run as deep as those of people who worked to be precise when telling me I was beautiful. Mary Oliver writes of clouds to remind us of our allies, when scolding or celebrating, our pilgrim selves.<\/p>\n

These utterly a-typical weeks of fear and anger, of anger and fear, of face masks and handwashing rituals, a close friend observed a week or two ago, create a context for work and ordinary life that she describes as \u201chaphazard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, every now and then Mary Oliver just smacks me . . . . to get my attention and helps me pay attention to the depths in my life.\u00a0 Yours too, perhaps.<\/p>\n

Have a blest weekend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/a>
\nThe Monument to Joe Louis, aka \u201cThe Fist\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post \u2013\u00a0Mary Oliver: \u201cThe Fist\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are days
\nwhen the sun goes down
\nlike a fist,
\nthough of course<\/p>\n

if you see anything
\nin the heavens
\nin this way
\nyou had better get<\/p>\n

your eyes checked
\nor, better, still,
\nyour diminished spirit.
\nThe heavens<\/p>\n

have no fist,
\nor wouldn\u2019t they have been
\nshaking it
\nfor a thousand years now,<\/p>\n

and even
\nlonger than that,
\nat the dull, brutish
\nways of mankind\u2014<\/p>\n

heaven\u2019s own
\ncreation?
\nInstead: such patience!
\nSuch willingness<\/p>\n

to let us continue!
\nTo hear,
\nlittle by little,
\nthe voices\u2014<\/p>\n

only, so far, in
\npockets of the world\u2014
\nsuggesting
\nthe possibilities<\/p>\n

of peace?
\nKeep looking.
\nBehold, how the fist opens
\nwith invitation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nMary Oliver
\n1935-2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fist\u201d by\u00a0Mary Oliver.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Text as published in\u00a0Thirst: Poems<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(Beacon Press, 2007).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, June 5 \u2014 \u201cyou had better get \/ your eyes checked \/ or, better, still, \/ your diminished spirit\u201d How many encounters could I remember if I worked at it, when someone took the trouble to tell me, bluntly … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3530,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions\/3530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}