if we could live our life over again

inspired by a Mary Oliver poem

I love Mary Oliver (don’t we all?) she speaks to my wild soul. She says the things I feel and know which often get buried under the drudge of our current human experience. It is difficult to follow her prose as it is sublime …

I want to live my life all over again

begin again - to be utterly wild

Free of the chains of the modern world

I want to forage, wander

Sleep under the stars in a nest

Made of leaves and branches

softened with moss

I want to be on a first name basis

with the forest spirits

Familiar with all who reside under the trees

And the trees!

So wise, so grand, so kind

I long to sit in their shade

gaze upward towards their crown in reverence

Blessed by their presence

Slowly …

My tamed self unravels

The soles of my feet toughen

Dirt smudged on my face

Hands wrinkled and gnarled

like the branches of an old tree

Seeds, twigs and spiderwebs my headdress

Until …

I blend in completely with my surroundings