Friday, September 05, 2014

Poetry Friday: Lead

Lead
by Mary Oliver

Here is a story
to break your heart.
Are you willing?
This winter
the loons came to our harbor
and died, one by one,
of nothing we could see.

I read this poem this week in conjunction with Parker Palmer's words, and you can read them, plus the rest of the poem, here.  Palmer calls this "an invitation to heartbreak."  Just being alive is an invitation to heartbreak, it seems to me.  Are we willing? 

Here's today's roundup.

5 comments:

Tabatha said...

Poor loons! Last month, a bunch of frogs came onto the walking path near our home to die. So disturbing.

I love the way Mary Oliver says what needs to be said.

GatheringBooks said...

What a foreshadowing those few words: "Are you willing?"

Mary Lee said...

Yes, I agree. We must be willing to have our heart broken in order to truly live.

Author Amok said...

Hi, Ruth. I like your pairing of Parker Palmer and Mary Oliver's poem. The poem makes me think of the geese who nested on my grandmother's lake. She always kept track of the babies and how many survived each season.

Ruth said...

It's Parker Palmer's pairing, not mine! Thanks for visiting. :-)