Thursday March 13 — Mary Oliver<\/p>\n
I posted Mary O’s “Wage Peace” on December 2, thinking then of Bill Pauly, sj, a soul friend who died too young of a heart attack on November 29, 2006. He loved Mary O’s poetry and got me to pay attention. She, the poet, has a gift for writing homey simplicities that sneak up and startle readers with terrible depths. Good reading for a day that bounced off weather in the 50’s with a wild brief snow storm and high winds. Then today’s dawn which looks like it will have to work to climb above -1\u00ba for a little while despite it’s bright sun.<\/p>\n
“Wage peace.” Blessings on your day.<\/p>\n
john sj<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WAGE PEACE — Mary Oliver<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thursday March 13 — Mary Oliver I posted Mary O’s “Wage Peace” on December 2, thinking then of Bill Pauly, sj, a soul friend who died too young of a heart attack on November 29, 2006. He loved Mary O’s … Continue reading
\nWage peace with your breath.
\nBreathe in firemen and rubble,
\nbreathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
\nBreathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children and fresh mown
\nfields.
\nBreathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
\nBreathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
\nWage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
\nRemember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
\nMake soup.
\nPlay music, learn the word for thank you in three languages.
\nLearn to knit, and make a hat.
\nThink of chaos as dancing raspberries,
\nimagine grief as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.
\nSwim for the other side.
\nWage peace.
\nNever has the world seemed so fresh and precious.
\nHave a cup of tea and rejoice.
\nAct as if armistice has already arrived.
\nDon\u2019t wait another minute.<\/p>\n