“And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
The snow has melted and the pansies turn their faces toward the sun. It’s time to put on the gardening gloves and cope with a blister or two. Visit the new first floor display for tips on how to achieve the garden of your dreams. If you’re not a gardener, there are novels available that evoke the beauty of gardens without the mess. While you’re there help celebrate National Poetry Month-chose a novel with poet protagonist, a novel set in prose, or one of the many wonderful poetry books from the collection.
May I suggest one of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver?
Wild Geese
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.
Thank you to Beth Kephart, author of Undercover, for introducing Mary Oliver to me. If you have a young adult looking for a beautiful book I highly recommend Undercover-a beautiful poetic book.
-posted by Susan, Readers’ Services
Beautiful garden! Yay for Poetry Month!
This is exceptional. Thank you.