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Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver, 'The Summer Day'

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The story behind the card

Mary Oliver (1935–2019), an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, closes 'The Summer Day', from House of Light (1990), with this question. The poem begins by asking who made the world, then looks closely at one grasshopper eating sugar from the poet's hand. Oliver admits she does not know exactly what prayer is, but she knows how to pay attention and how to spend a day wandering the fields. Only then does she ask. Read that way, the question is less a call to achieve than an invitation to notice.

Türkçe oku
Söyle bana, bu biricik, dizginsiz ve değerli hayatınla ne yapmayı düşünüyorsun?
Mary Oliver, “Yaz Günü”

1984'te Pulitzer Ödülü'nü kazanan Amerikalı şair Mary Oliver (1935–2019), House of Light (1990) kitabındaki “The Summer Day” (“Yaz Günü”) şiirini bu soruyla bitirir. Şiir, dünyayı kimin yarattığını sorarak başlar, sonra şairin avucundan şeker yiyen tek bir çekirgeye yakından bakar. Oliver duanın tam olarak ne olduğunu bilmediğini, ama dikkat etmeyi ve bir günü kırlarda dolaşarak geçirmeyi bildiğini söyler. Soruyu ancak bundan sonra sorar. Böyle okununca soru bir başarı çağrısından çok, etrafına bakmaya bir davettir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Mary Oliver
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