Aunt Leaf, Mary Oliver
Needing one, I invented her –
the great-great-aunt dark as hickory
called Shining-Leaf, or Drifting-Cloud
or The-Beauty-of-the-Night.
Dear aunt, I’d call into the leaves,
and she’d rise up, like an old log in a pool,
and whisper in a language only the two of us knew
the word that meant follow,
and we’d travel
cheerful as birds
out of the dusty town and into the trees
where she would change us both into something quicker –
two foxes with black feet,
two snakes green as ribbons,
two shimmering fish – and all day we’d travel.
At day’s end she’d leave me back at my own door
with the rest of my family,
who were kind, but solid as wood
and rarely wandered. While she,
old twist of feathers and birch bark,
would walk in circles wide as rain and then
float back
scattering the rags of twilight
on fluttering moth wings;
or she’d slouch from the barn like a gray opossum;
or she’d hang in the milky moonlight
burning like a medallion,
this bone dream, this friend I had to have,
this old woman made out of leaves.
Jeff – Your vivid photography bring a whole new level of life to this well-loved Mary Oliver poem. Exquisite!
Laurie,
I am glad I could add something new to Mary Oliver’s work and your enjoyment!
I am Love, Jeff
Yes breathtaking!
Thanks Jeff…
Kim,
Thank you so much!
I am Love, Jeff
Jeff — did you and Laurie mean to write about feathers on the same day? Or, is it just one of those mind-meld things? I absolutely adore the pictures. I especially love the strength of the first picture and the long, slow length of the second one. Thank you for the poem, too. It reminds me of adventure and imagination and all the things that are possible.
Barbara,
I think the feather just kind of floated into the energy of what we were creating.
I wanted to offer my photographs, I desired to give them some juice with a poem, this one just resonated!
All things are possible!
I am Love, Jeff
Fully inspired.
Kat,
Thank you so much for stopping by, and leaving a comment!!!