I had a very dysfunctional family, and a very hard childhood. So I made a world out of words. And it was my salvation. Mary Oliver childhooddysfunctionalfamily Change image and share on social
I decided very early that I wanted to write. But I didn't think of it as a career. I didn't even think of it as a profession... It was the most exciting thing, the most powerful thing, the most wonderful thing to do with my life. Mary Oliver careerdecideearly share on social
I worked privately, and sometimes I feel that might be better for poets than the kind of social workshop gathering. My school was the great poets: I read, and I read, and I read. Mary Oliver feelgathergreat Change image and share on social
I simply do not distinguish between work and play. Mary Oliver distinguishplaysimply Change image and share on social
I'm going to die one day. I know it's coming for me, too. I'll be a mountain, I'll be a stone on the beach. I'll be nourishment. Mary Oliver beachcomeday Change image and share on social
Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. Mary Oliver beardoggift share on social
Almost anything is too much. I am trying in my poems to have the reader be the experiencer. I do not want to be there. It is not even a walk we take together. Mary Oliver experiencerpoemreader Change image and share on social
As a child, what captivated me was reading the poems myself and realizing that there was a world without material substance which was nevertheless as alive as any other. Mary Oliver alivecaptivatechild Change image and share on social
The woods that I loved as a child are entirely gone. The woods that I loved as a young adult are gone. The woods that most recently I walked in are not gone, but they're full of bicycle trails. Mary Oliver adultbicyclechild Change image and share on social
I read Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet, every day. Mary Oliver 13thcenturyday Change image and share on social
