[Camino Poem No. 11] My Work is Loving the World

This is the 11th of 42 posts about the poems that carried me across the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain. 

Sometimes people say things that you know you will remember for the rest of your life.

The previous evening, I shared a meal with a Swedish pilgrim who seemed able to sense how much I was struggling with fear. At one point, she looked straight into my eyes (through my eyes?), and said, firmly, 'Will, you do not need to be afraid.'.

Next morning, the walking began tough. The tension in my joints felt worse, and at times the fear was so strong I couldn't imagine how I would keep moving. Somehow, I did. Step by step, breathing into the pain. Then, at some point, something (many things) relaxed and released, and I began sobbing.

Soon after, I met my Swedish friend again in a cafe, and she picked this poem for the day. My favorite lines are these:

'let me keep my mind on what matters / which is my work / which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished'.

And - if my work is loving the world, I would like to remember that the world is not just sunflowers and hummingirds and blue plums but also fear and physical pain and refugees (see poem no. 10).

My Work is Loving the World – Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird -

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the mouth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

Today's walk was 22km, from Navarette to Azofra. 

If you enjoy Mary Oliver - see also The Journey (the poem for Day 3).