House of Light: Poems

By: Mary Oliver

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Synopsis: &“Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?&”—Mary Oliver&“The Summer Day&” (House of Light)Mary Oliver&’s words guide us, with solace and empathy, across the rocky terrain of human existence. In House of Light, which was originally published in 1990, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet offers us an opportunity to transcend ordinary life into a realm of natural wonder. Oliver investigates themes on &“how to love this world" and to live &“as though time didn&’t exist&” in her poems &“Spring&” and &“The Swan,&” and she awakens within us a renewed sense of awe in &“The Ponds&”: &“Still, what I want in my life / is to be willing / to be dazzled— / to cast aside the weight of facts // and maybe even / to float a little / above this difficult world.&” As her words suspend time and space, Oliver encourages us to attune ourselves to the quiet moments of enlightenment that perforate each day. Meditative and soulful, the forty-six poems in this collection honor our collective threads of humanity and our never-ending quest for grace. &“Oliver's poems are thoroughly convincing—as genuine, moving, and implausible as the first caressing breeze of spring.&” —The New York Times Book Review