The World I Live In

I visited my friend Paulus a few weeks ago and he read me this poem, from Mary Oliver's new book Felicity which hadn't come out yet.   They are friends, so he knew it already.  I met her once with him in the garden at Penland when she was visiting him.  He read it from his journal, where he had written it out by hand, and I meant to copy it down, though I ran out of time and never did.  But it made it's way into the New York times October 14, so I can share it now.  It spoke to me...happy I rediscovered it before too much time had passed.

The World I Live In

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
  reasons and proofs.
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that.  And anyway,
  what's wrong with Maybe?

You wouldn't believe what once or
twice I have seen.  I'll just
  tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will you
  ever, possibly, see one.


I love it.  xox