A Poem On Hearing That Mary Oliver Has Passed

By

I am full of sadness
but I don’t mourn for her
She is the one who taught me
about the gift
of both life and death.

She was to me
the way a kindly grandmother
feeds you
and cheers you
and bequeaths to you
an idea–
what it should mean to grow
old
and be happy and blessed
and troubled.

She taught me how to grieve
and lose
and be graceful.

She taught me how to be beautiful when I am sad.

She taught me that I can call
home
anywhere.

That I can belong to the natural world
I can call myself one
of her children,
be cared for and loved
simply by being alive.