In My Pockets

What's usually in my pockets?

Used tissues, a lipstick, and poop bags. 

What's in my pocket today?

A poem, of course!  

(I printed several to share with my art class this afternoon and my book group tonight.)

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

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I hope your pockets are full of poetry today!

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If you have a minute and 10 seconds to spare today, here's a real treat:  Mary Oliver, herself, reading this poem.  (So worth it.)