I try to be good but sometimes a person just has to break out and act like the wild and springy thing one used to be. It's impossible not to remember wild an want it back.
Mary OliverRead
If I have any lasting worth, it will be because I have tried to make people remember what the Earth is meant to look like.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of preserving the beauty of the Earth through our actions and memories.
Mary Oliver reflects on the significance of leaving a positive impact on the world by encouraging people to remember and appreciate the natural beauty of the Earth. Her words suggest that true worth comes from our efforts to inspire others to recognize and cherish the environment we inhabit, advocating for a deeper connection to nature.
Themes
EarthNatureMemoryWorthBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about environmental conservation.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes βAt the time I was growing up, literature was involved with the so-called confessional poets. And I was not interested in that. I did not think that specific and personal perspective functioned well for the reader at all.
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I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.
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For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.
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Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
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The god of dirt came up to me many times and said so many wise and delectable things, I lay on the grass listening to his dog voice, frog voice; now, he said, and now, and never once mentioned forever from, One or Two Things
Mary OliverRead
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