.joy is not made to be a crumb.

Don't Hesitate
Mary Oliver, Devotions

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

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I started reading Devotions this morning. Mary Oliver lived much of her adult life on Cape Cod in Provincetown, one of my most favorite places. I found Mary Oliver's poetry before I knew the Cape although, I think my love for the Cape only amplified my appreciation of Mary's poems. Many are inspired by her daily nature walks, capturing simple time moments of the day or nuance of a changing season. It can almost picture the dunes of Cape Cod or a sunset at Race Point Beach when I read her words. She had such a deep sense of belonging there, even when she left. 

Are there stories or poems that take you to other places? Where do you go?

.the journey.

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice – – –

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

‘Mend my life!’

each voice cried.

But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations – – –

though their melancholy

was terrible. It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice,

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do – – – determined to save

the only life you could save.

.mary oliver.