Kindlandia: Mary Oliver’s Kindness Legacy

Mary Oliver died last Thursday, January 17, 2019. She had lived among us for eighty-three years and opened our eyes and hearts to the wonder of nature, living, and being.

I recently acquired Mary’s book, Our World, compiled after the death of her partner, Molly Malone Cook, a testament to creative life and their forty years of devotion to one another. It pairs Molly’s photographs with her journal entries and Mary’s essays. Last week I gazed at the first section of the book. Yesterday, after hearing the news of her passing, I sat with the photographs and writings, as if attending a celebration of their lives.

One section of Mary’s writing was especially significant to me:
“It has frequently been remarked, about my own writings, that I emphasize the notion of attention. This began simply enough: to see that the way the flicker flies is greatly different from the way the swallow plays in the golden air of summer. It was a pleasure to notice such things; it was a good first step. … Molly taught me what real attention is all about. Attention without feeling … is only a report.”

One section of Mary’s writing was especially significant to me:
“It has frequently been remarked, about my own writings, that I emphasize the notion of attention. This began simply enough: to see that the way the flicker flies is greatly different from the way the swallow plays in the golden air of summer. It was a pleasure to notice such things; it was a good first step. … Molly taught me what real attention is all about. Attention without feeling … is only a report.”

The sun was setting behind a large hill. The west was aglow in the dusty rose, pinks, high white wisps of eyelash clouds, and the blue of sky. Yet the formation around the setting sun was unusual. The streaks of color were like the lines of a musical staff. Long row after long row of puffy dots of clouds bumped up next to each other as if whole notes on a musical score in preparation for a requiem of the spheres. I found comfort in the sunset. It served as a reminder that although Mary Oliver has passed from this life, her work and the beauty of our world remain.
In her poem, “Evidence,” Mary wrote, “I believe in kindness,” endearing her to my heart that always celebrates kindness. Having shared her discoveries of nature and its relationship to our lives, with her death Mary’s torch is now passed on to us to notice our world and reflect on its implications. Mary, you, and the kindness in your life and your poems, will be missed.