Invitation (Monday Poem)

 by Mary Oliver

 

 

Oh do you have time

   to linger

        for just a little while

             out of your busy

 

and very important day

    for the goldfinches

         that have gathered

              in a field of thistles

 

for a musical battle,

     to see who can sing

         the highest note,

              or the lowest,

 

or the most expressive of mirth,

     or the most tender?

         Their strong, blunt beaks

              drink the air

 

as they strive

    melodiously

        not for your sake

            and not for mine

 

and not for the sake of winning

     but for sheer delight and gratitude ---

          believe us, they say,

              it is a serious thing

 

just to be alive

     on this fresh morning

         in this broken world.

             I beg of you,

 

do not walk by

     without pausing

         to attend to this

              rather ridiculous performance.

 

It could mean something.

     It could mean everything.

          It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:

               You must change your life.

 

from Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

by Mary Oliver

Penguin Random House, 2020