“Devotions”

Posted July 28, 2026 by Prairie Wife -

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

When I am Among the Trees-Mary Oliver

I am not usually a fan of poetry.

It goes against my busy, always go-go-go nature.

The way you have to read most poems slowly, pause, reread them, and pause again…and sit in the feelings that are left behind…it’s work for me!

I much prefer zooming through a well-written novel that has an ending that is neat and beautiful and leaves me with no questions.

But, over the last year, I kept coming across quotes on social media from the poet Mary Oliver.

I know how the algorithm works, and that it wasn’t a coincidence that once I took time to read a few of her pieces, more kept on showing up. I found myself screenshotting (is that even a word?) so many of her poems that I finally gave in and purchased a book of her work titled “Devotions”. It’s a compilation of her work from 1963 (when she first became a published poet at the age of 28) to her last book, which was published in 2015. These poems were handpicked and gathered by Mary Oliver herself shortly before her death in 2019.

I couldn’t help but feel it was the right choice because it seemed to me that it was a collection full of her favorite poems, and that she picked them because they sent the message to the world that she wanted it to receive.

I ordered the book in November of last year, and I am just over halfway done with it…

Sometimes I will go weeks without reading it, and other times I find myself sitting on my bed on a random Tuesday afternoon reading (and rereading) poems for almost an hour. Highlighting lines and phrases and even whole poems that resonate with my soul.

This morning I was at a loss for what to write about.

Actually, that’s a lie.

I have about 100 ideas for blog posts rattling around in my head and heart, but none of them felt right.

And so, on a whim, I grabbed my book “Devotions,” sat down on the couch, read several pages, and highlighted a few lines.

my mother, alas, alas,
did not always love her life,
heavier than iron it was
as she carried it in her arms, from room to room,

Flare-Mary Oliver

The moon,
in its shining white blouse,
rises.

You Are Standing at the Edge of the Woods-Mary Oliver

And after I sat silently looking out the window, digesting what I had read, I thought I would share some of her with you.

Maybe you too are in a season of sorting out your soul. Making sense of moments that you finally have the strength and energy to work through.

Or, maybe you’re finding yourself in the beautiful chaotic whirlwind of Summer and life and need a reason to pause and sit for a bit.

I recommend finding a book of poetry to read, a bit at a time.

Below are a few more of my favorite lines from Oliver’s work, and I put some of them into graphics that you are more than welcome to share.

At the end of this post, I have included links to work from more poets that I have “collected” over the years.

I was enjoying everything: the rain, the path
wherever it was taking me, the earth roots
beginning to stir.
I didn’t intend to start thinking about God,
it just happened.

Drifting-Mary Oliver

Scatter your flowers over the graves, and walk away.
Be good-natured and untidy in your exuberance.

Flare-Mary Oliver

Oh, to love what is lovely, and will not last!
What a task
to ask

of anything, or anyone,

yet it is ours,

Snow Geese-Mary Oliver

Wild sings the bird of the heart in the forests
of our lives.

Wild, Wild-Mary Oliver

I tell you this
to break your heart,
by which I mean only
that it break open and never close again
to the rest of the world.

Lead-Mary Oliver

Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have.

Thirst-Mary Oliver

though I’m not twenty
and won’t be again but ah! seventy. And still
in love with life. And still
full of beans.

Self-Portrait-Mary Oliver

Poetry Book Recommendations

“Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman

Poems by Emily Dickinson Series 2 by Emily Dickinson

All Along You Were Blooming by Morgan Harper Nichols

Categories: Book Reviews, Life As It Happens, Reviews

Tags: , devotions, mary oliver, meditation, mental health, poetry, review