shadow, ocean and expanse

Desire

by 

Mary Oliver

So long as I am hanging on

I want to be young and noble.

I want to be bold.

So said the great buck, named Swirler,

as he stepped like a king past me the week

before he was arrow-killed.

And so said the wren in the bush after

another hard year of love, of nest-life, of

singing.

And so say I early morning, just before

sunrise,

wading the edge of the dark ocean.

I awoke to chicken sounds. I drove in mist and fog.

Swam in clear blue waters, got hot from too much sun.

Felt the familiar wave of inspiration wash

over me as I sat with my writing book and 

favorite pen. I remember in a dance class I

once took when we would have trouble with the steps

my teacher would say, "Just let the dance wash over you"

This is what my hours and minutes are

like a slow and subtle washing over. 

I am in a place I once lived. Exploring

all over again, Hawaii and it's smells. Old memories

lie in all of it. The buildings, the sounds of

flip flops on the pavement, the same tea at the

cafe I used to work at. I remember and I whisper

"Wash over me, Wash over me".