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Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver Quotes

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Famous Mary Oliver Quotes

“Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled-to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery. I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing-that the light is everything-that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do.”

WorldWantBelieveLittlesStillsFactsLightLife IsDifficultWhiteFireMysteryWillingWeightCastsRisingImperfectionFloatsFlawedFading
Book:New and Selected Poems, Volume One
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“I wanted the past to go away, I wanted to leave it, like another country; I wanted my life to close, and open like a hinge, like a wing, like the part of the song where it falls down over the rocks: an explosion, a discovery; I wanted to hurry into the work of my life; I wanted to know, whoever I was, I was alive for a little while.”

KnowsLittlesCountryWantedPastSongFallAliveRocksDiscoveryWingsGoing AwayExplosionsFalling DownHinges
Book:Dream Work
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“In your hands The dog, the donkey, surely they know They are alive. Who would argue otherwise? But now, after years of consideration, I am getting beyond that. What about the sunflowers? What about The tulips, and the pines? Listen, all you have to do is start and There’ll be no stopping. What about mountains? What about water Slipping over rocks? And speaking of stones, what about The little ones you can Hold in your hands, their heartbeats So secret, so hidden it may take years Before, finally, you hear them?”

KnowsYearsMayLittlesHandsWaterSecretAliveRocksDogMountainStonesArguingConsiderationStoppingHeartbeatSlippingDonkeySunflower
Author:Mary Oliver
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“LITTLE DOGS RHAPSODY IN THE NIGHT (PERCY THREE) He puts his cheek against mine and makes small, expressive sounds. And when I'm awake, or awake enough he turns upside down, his four paws in the air and his eyes dark and fervent. Tell me you love me, he says. Tell me again. Could there be a sweeter arrangement? Over and over he gets to ask it. I get to tell.”

LittlesEnoughEyeNightTurnsThreeAsksSoundDarkFourAirDogMinesAwakeHis EyesCheeksArrangementsUpside DownExpressivePawsFerventTell Me You Love Me
Book:Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
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