Are you surprised that it took me five days to get to Mary Oliver and sunflowers? I held off as long as I could. 😀  The sun is shining beautifully here in the Tennessee Valley and these sunflowers reflect how bright and sunny I’m feeling as a result of basking in it all morning and early afternoon. 

I have been sort of stuck on this Oliver poem since the beginning of the year–for the message and the splendor of the images–so it was a given I’d share it here during National Poetry Month. The poem is from her 2004 collection, Blue Iris: Poems and Essays.

How Would You Live Then?
Mary Oliver

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
flew in circles around your head? What if
the mockingbird came into the house with you and
became your advisor? What if
the bees filled your walls with honey and all
you needed to do was ask them and they would fill
the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
past your bedroom window so you could listen
to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
the stars began to shout their names, or to run
this way and that way above the clouds? What if
you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves
began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw
that the silver of water was brighter than the silver
of money? What if you finally saw
that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
and every day – who knows how, but they do it – were
more precious, more meaningful than gold?

About the image:  The “Tender Thoughts” card above came from my Love Notes friend, Eileen V; it was sent for International Women’s Day 2020. Eileen enclosed a special treat inside the card that I’m looking forward to sharing later this week.