I very much wished not to be noticed, and to be left alone, and I sort of succeeded. Mary Oliver leavenoticesort Change image and share on social
To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. Mary Oliver bonedependhold share on social
I love the line of Flaubert about observing things very intensely. I think our duty as writers begins not with our own feelings, but with the powers of observing. Mary Oliver begindutyfeeling Change image and 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 consider myself kind of a reporter - one who uses words that are more like music and that have a choreography. I never think of myself as a poet; I just get up and write. Mary Oliver choreographykindmusic Change image and share on social
I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished. Mary Oliver finishpoemrelease Change image and share on social
If I've done my work well, I vanish completely from the scene. I believe it is invasive of the work when you know too much about the writer. Mary Oliver completelyhaveinvasive Change image and share on social
It's very important to write things down instantly, or you can lose the way you were thinking out a line. I have a rule that if I wake up at 3 in the morning and think of something, I write it down. I can't wait until morning - it'll be gone. Mary Oliver importantinstantlyline share on social
Animals praise a good day, a good hunt. They praise rain if they're thirsty. That's prayer. They don't live an unconscious life, they simply have no language to talk about these things. But they are grateful for the good things that come along. Mary Oliver animaldaygood share on social
I went to India and was quite taken with it. There's a feeling there that things are holy first and useful second. Mary Oliver feltholyindia Change image and share on social
