Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver, excerpt from poem “The Summer Day”
June 21, 2018, is the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere. For us, it is the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. From today onward, the light begins to fade as the days grow shorter.
In this poem, Mary Oliver asks:
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass
One thing contains everything as nature brings her to the ultimate question.
Take the time on this “Summer Day” to slow down, discover the messages hidden in the landscape around you, and perhaps you will find the answer to the haunting question.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver reads “The Summer Day”
Read full poem online or pick up one of her books below.
Books of Poetry by Mary Oliver
