The poem
How necessary it is to have opinions! I think the spotted trout lilies are satisfied, standing a few inches above the earth. I think serenity is not something you just find in the world, like a plum tree, holding up its white petals.
The violets, along the river, are opening their blue faces, like small dark lanterns.
The green mosses, being so many, are as good as brawny.
How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly, looking at everything and calling out
Yes! No! The
swan, for all his pomp, his robes of grass and petals, wants only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.
I have an opinion about this poem because it is necessary but for many of us also inevitable. This poem affirms us all in our perhaps often fumbling efforts to articulate opinions. It is therefore a strong and important poem and provocative. I hope Mary Oliver does not mind but I have just translated this poem into Portuguese (Brazilian). I am learning Portuguese and chose to translate this poem because it speaks to how difficult it is to express opinions in a second language and how fraught and necessary. (I have sent my translation - shared with minha professora Tatiana but otherwise unpublished - to Mary. I thought I should.)