The Everyday Mindfulness of Mary Oliver
Blackwater Pond in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Photography by Ronald Barnes. Some rights reserved.
The late poet Mary Oliver held a reverence for the natural world that remains singular in its depth. She was cited often as stating that her vocation was primarily the observation of life—famously writing “attention is the beginning of devotion”—and her oeuvre underscores that in spades.
Though Oliver departed the mortal plane a few years ago, there’s no doubt in my mind that she continues to dwell harmoniously among our three-dimensional elements in some ethereal form. I find solace in thinking of her spirit as a bird soaring among the trees, pausing every now and then on a branch to admire the landscape as a gentle breeze nuzzles her feathers. And, when the sun’s glow descends toward the horizon, she knows where to fly to sleep, for she has made a nest in my heart and I’m certain in countless others around the globe.
At Blackwater Pond Audiobook
Mary Oliver reads Mary Oliver
In terms of a tangible residence during her lifetime, Provincetown in Massachusetts was the place Oliver called home for decades alongside her partner, the late photographer Molly Malone Cook. Shortly after the publication of Oliver’s first book of poems in 1963, the couple settled in this area at the northern tip of Cape Cod, where the diverse ecological surroundings doubled as a backyard for the poet’s imagination to flourish. Points like Blackwater Pond and the circling Beech Forest Trail provided crucial inspiration for many of her most beloved works.
Choosing a definitive Mary Oliver poem to proclaim as my favorite is an impossible undertaking. There isn’t one. Most mornings I open to a random page in Devotions, Oliver’s carefully curated collection of over 200 poems written throughout her career, to experience her evocative words. Other mornings, I flip to a specific poem that I know will imbue me with her wisdom, grace, and comfort. Reading Mary Oliver daily is a mindfulness practice that consistently helps me to connect to all of my senses and, as a result, to center within myself. From that grounded vantage point, I feel a bit more equipped and confident as I move through our modern world.
“Mornings at Blackwater,” Devotions by Mary Oliver. Photography by Rakhee Bhatt. All rights reserved.
Though my life has been nomadic in recent years, I have rarely been without a physical copy of Oliver’s Devotions since its release in 2017. I’m currently on my fourth copy, having left the prior three books in various cities for someone else to stumble upon and—hopefully—enjoy. One poem that I’ve been intentionally turning to in recent weeks is “Mornings at Blackwater,” which was originally published in her 2009 book of poetry Red Bird. An ode to her beloved Provincetown pond, this 18-line poem reads like a reassuring incantation—stay steadfast in this present moment and the world you envision can be yours. You just have to accept the invitation to the pond, to that place where your imagination can run free.
And therein lies the revolutionary beauty that Mary Oliver infused into our universe. She paid attention to her wild and precious life and told us to pay attention, too.