The inimitable St Mary Oliver reminds us with this poem, of all the sacred music and phenomenon that are always singing to us but especially in the forest. This reminded me how,, in “The Spell of the Sensuous” David Abram opens our hearts to the conversation of the more than human that surrounds us if we only listen.
With gratitude to sister Amina Janet who posted this lovely poem in her blog, “Love, Harmony, and Beauty #87”
************
Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.
― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems