Maddie's Nature Blog

  Just as the Calendar Began to Say Summer (pg. 191) is a wonderful poem that demonstrates Oliver’s curiosity and desire to be in nature. What initially drove me to read this poem was the title. As someone who lives a fast-paced life, I often feel like a season ends as soon as I begin to get settled into it. Reading this poem brought me back to moments in my childhood, specifically when she says, “Spent all summer forgetting what I’d been taught”      While it's summertime, students try to soak up every ounce of free time they have and tend to give school much thought. When I was in grade school, I was definitely the kid who lived my summers to the fullest and relished in not having to do homework.      Mary Oliver then reflects on how the classroom confines her and keeps her away from nature. She acknowledges that while she is sitting in this room and being lectured at, nature is still alive and well. She says, “The river kept rolling its pebbles, th...

  STORAGE When I moved from one house to another there were many things I had no room for. What does one do? I rented a storage  space. And filled it. Years passed. Occasionally I went there and looked in, but nothing happened, not a single twinge of the heart. As I grew older the things I cared about grew fewer, but were more  important. So one day I undid the lock and called the trash man. He took everything.  I felt like the little donkey when his burden is finally lifted. Things! Burn them, burn them! Make a beautiful  fire! More room in your heart for love,  for the trees! For the birds who own nothing - the reason they can fly. This Mary Oliver poem speaks to me on so many levels about my feelings towards American consumerism. Foremost, Oliver brings up the fact that the new house she will be moving into does not have the space to accommodate all the items she has collected over the years. For this reason, she chooses to rent a storage unit to store a...