In her much-beloved poem, Wild Geese, Mary Oliver has something to say about our endless attempts to prove ourselves. Life “calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting,” she says, reminding you of your home in the family of things. Adrie Kussarow reworked Wild Geese to help us sort through our knee-jerk responses to the coronavirus.
During the coronavirus, our daily forays into the natural world have kept us sane, and we’ve been extremely grateful for access to a park, a hiking trail, a meadow or a garden. As our world shifts, we keep returning to the landscape for a sense of solace, and more of us are keeping a Nature Journal.
While travel is restricted we can conjure up a place in the imagination. Here’s how a poet visits faraway places while staying close to home.
What concerns me now is a lemon,
Split through the center.
A yellow basin,
The walk on both sides,
A bitter landscape,
But free to talk.
Edward Dougherty explores the longings run like electric current through the mind of an extension cord.
Poet Richard Beban considers two life lessons: What to do when Joy gets in your eyes. How to say goodbye to a well-loved shirt.
Poet Barbara Swift Brauer considers what happens to a marriage when we bring the outside in.
Poet Mercilee Jenkins says home is an organic thing. When we move on, the spirit of a house remains.