Poetry #5

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

TWIST:

Tone- gentle and encouraging. “whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination”

Word choice:

“soft animal” this connects humankind back to nature, our home.

“clear pebbles”, “deep trees”, “clean blue air” all very fresh and naturalistic

“harsh and exciting” convey limitless possibilities of humans

Imagery: many images of nature and beautiful landscapes. This ties back to the main idea that our family is this world, we share it with the creatures and all of our possibilities exist within nature. Also compares humans to geese to symbolize our ability to go anywhere

Style: use of commands. action words. Lyric poetry. Use of dash to show importance of last two lines. Reiteration of ‘you’.

Theme: People matter and people belong; like geese, humans are a part of the family of nature.

Mary Oliver is known for her sense of community with nature in get poetry and this poem is no exception. I like that share emphasizes the role humans have in nature and that they can always turn to the ‘family’ for guidance and love.

I felt a connection with this poem because I have a passionate attitude towards nature and the place that we have in this world. We try to disconnect ourselves from nature, but it is part of our core. We cannot detach ourselves from our history. I have always lived in the countryside where I can sit in the trees in the summer and look up at the stars. I feel best when I am with my family - nature.