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
And to tell the truth I don't want to let go of the wrists of idleness, I don't want to sell my life for money, I don't even want to come in out of the rain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a desire to embrace life freely and authentically rather than conforming to societal expectations for money and productivity.
Mary Oliver's quote highlights the tension between societal pressures to be productive and the innate human desire for freedom and simple pleasures. It conveys a rejection of materialism and the importance of fully experiencing life, even if it means facing discomfort or uncertainty. The emphasis on not wanting to let go of idleness suggests a deep appreciation for the present moment and the natural world, urging a shift away from conventional definitions of success.
Themes
FreedomAuthenticityLifeIdlenessMaterialismNature
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on work-life balance, this quote can highlight the importance of valuing leisure and nature.
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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