Reading for Care: Taking Perspective with Wild Geese

Inspired by our continuing practice of attention, today we turn to a poem that widens the frame gently. All you need is a copy of the poem, a pen and 10-20 minutes quiet time.

A Gentle Note Before You Begin

This space is for reading and reflection. It is not therapy. You are free to pause or step away at any time. Take what feels steady and leave the rest.

Arrival

Before reading, look up from your screen. Notice something beyond you: the sky, ceiling, window light, a plant, a distant sound. Take three slow breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Let your shoulders drop.

Encounter the Poem

Read Wild Geese slowly once. Read it again, even more slowly. Let the words move through you without trying to agree or disagree.

Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

When Literature Widens the Frame

Journal Prompts

1. What line felt like it was speaking directly to you?

2. Where does the poem shift your perspective: from self-judgment to belonging, from isolation to connection?

3. What image in the poem makes you feel part of something larger than yourself?

4. Is there a sentence you might carry with you today?

Write gently. You do not need to explain.

Perspective Practice

Mary Oliver does not solve anything in this poem. She simply reminds us.

Notice:

• Where does the poem soften your inner voice?

• Where does it enlarge your sense of place?

Taking perspective does not mean dismissing your feelings. It means seeing them within a wider sky.

Extending the Experience (Optional)

If you wish:

• Step outside for five minutes and look up.

• Write one sentence beginning with: You do not have to…

• Send the poem to someone who may need its steadiness.

May you remember that you belong to the family of things.