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
The poet must not only write the poem but must scrutinize the world intensely, or anyway that part of the world he or she has taken for subject. If the poem is thin, it is likely so not because the poet does not know enough words, but because he or she has not stood long enough among the flowers--has not seen them in any fresh, exciting, and valid way.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A poet needs to deeply observe the world to write meaningful poetry.
Mary Oliver emphasizes that the quality of a poem is not solely dependent on the poet's vocabulary but rather on their ability to observe and connect with the world around them. This deep scrutiny allows the poet to capture fresh and vivid perspectives, making the poem richer and more impactful.
Themes
PoetPoetryObservationWorldFlowers
In practice
Example use cases
In a poetry workshop, to highlight the importance of observation, one might quote this to inspire deeper engagement with their surroundings.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes →At 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.
Mary OliverRead
I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.
Mary OliverRead
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.
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.
Mary OliverRead
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.
Mary OliverRead
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