And this is why she is my favorite poet...

A Pretty Song by Mary Oliver

From the complications of loving you
I think there is no end or return.
No answer, no coming out of it.

Which is the only way to love, isn't it?
This isn't a playground, this is
earth, our heaven, for a while.

Therefore I have given precedence
to all my sudden, sullen, dark moods
that hold you in the center of my world.

And I say to my body: grow thinner still.
And I say to my fingers, type me a pretty song.
And I say to my heart: rave on.


I absolutely love this poem. It is from Mary Oliver's book of poems entitled Thirst, which came out in 2006. This is so evocative to me, something I could have written myself. She reminds me of why I love poetry, and I why I feel compelled to write. Sometimes regular prose just doesn't convey the feeling and meaning you want it to.