New Poetry Book

I got a new Mary Oliver poetry book - Red Bird - for my birthday. Oh my, such a wonderful treat. I have been enjoying a delightfully lazy morning sipping coffee and reading my new book. Mmmm, such a perfect way to spend a birthday morning.

This poem put some thoughts and feelings into words today.

A River Far Away and Long Ago
The river
of my childhood,
that tumbled
down a passage of rocks

and cut-work ferns,
came here and there
to the swirl
and slowdown

of a pool
and I saw myself-
oh, clearly-
as I knelt at one -

then I saw myself
as if carried away,
as the river moved on.
Where have I gone?

Since then
I have looked and looked
for myself,
not sure

who I am, or where,
or, more importantly, why.
It's okay-
I have had a wonderful life.

Still, I ponder
where that other is-
where I landed,
what I thought, what I did,

what small or even maybe meaningful deeds
I might have accomplished
somewhere
among strangers,

coming to them
as only a river can-
touching every life it meets-
that endlessly kind, that enduring.