Wild Geese

                                                                                                       (illustration: Eliza K.)

Read the poem by Mary Oliver

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees 
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.                         
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Now, choose a set of questions and provide your answers.

1. How do you like the poem? Or, maybe, you don't like it? Why? What is the poem about? Don't worry, there are no right or wrong answers, it's just your time with the poem.

2. What do you think, and how do you feel, when you see and hear wild geese? Are you fond of these animals? What can they stand for as a metaphor? What can we, humans, learn from them?

If you're more into science, you can skip the first part and gather some information on geese. How do they function? How does the migratory system operate? What are their routes? How do they choose leaders? Do they help each other? 

3. The poet says, "... let the soft animal of your body love what it loves". What activities do you enjoy? Are there any physical activities you engage in on a daily basis? What are they? What do you like about them?

4. What is your favourite place in nature? Your favourite elements of nature? Plants or animals, but also landscapes, or type of weather?

Extra homework

Choose set 5 or 6 and provide your answers.

5. Tell me about your sorrows and joys. Tell me about your hopes and dreams. Tell me anything you want about yourself. Write as if you were writing to the poet.

6. What is your place in the family of things? What is the family of things in the first place? What is your family of things? Where, with whom or what do you feel good, safe, fine, authentic?

Thank you :).