Praying
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patcha few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorwayinto thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.— Mary Oliver, Thirst
I first encountered Mary Oliver and this poem when reading Common Prayer, the book I mentioned in last Friday’s post. I was an immediate convert.
- Does this poem change your thinking about prayer? In what ways?
- Are there things that seem to block you from praying? What are they?
- How would you like prayer to be for you?
- Take time to write down your thoughts…and consider reading them aloud to God…in prayer.
Grace and peace to you…
dw
Photo by dw
p.s. Notice she’s talking again about paying attention, a growing theme for us (see this, quoted from her book Upstream; see also Wednesday’s post where I emphasize it’s importance in living out our faith.)
Click below to see other posts on the theme of prayer:
6 replies on “Praying – a poem by Mary Oliver”
[…] a recent session, we were given a short poem called “Praying” by Mary Oliver and prompted to write about gratitude. I ended up writing a poem about the group […]
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Thank you for the reference. I like your poem – a lot!
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FOLLOWING THIS SPIRITUAL THEME TO A COLLECTION FOR THOSE INTERESTED. BILL
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[…] Praying, Mary Oliver […]
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[…] not “a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.”(“Praying,” Mary Oliver) […]
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[…] together while being alone, Ruth composed a new piece titled “Praying,” which was based on a poem by Mary Oliver carrying the same […]
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