“Wild Geese”
by Mary Oliver
“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.
. . .
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.”
(from Dream Work by Mary Oliver, 1986)
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE GOOD.
I think Mary (I love imagining that the poets I love and I are on a first-name basis) was meaning lots of things here.
You don’t always have to obey, you don’t always have to be polite, and you don’t always have to be good.
Please, whatever you love to do, please just do it, regardless of what you think your skill and talents are, please just do it.
Whether or not you share it, make that decision later, but first do the things you love.
I know it’s hard, and I can only imagine how hard it is to be you. I can only imagine how hard it is to find time, to steal time, to persuade yourself to create.
I want you to know to know that God, whatever you want to call Her/Him, or not, wants you to create.
If you have the urge, and then the inner-self talk to talk you back from creating, please fight that and just create.
Write.
Paint.
Draw.
Photograph.
Sing.
Hum.
Dance.
Create.
Whatever the verb, the creative outlet, I DO NOT CARE.
I ONLY CARE that you make something.
I don’t want you to care about its reception, its critical impact.
I just want you to write, sing, play, whatever the urge.
PLEASE, JUST DO THE THING.
KEEP DOING IT.
Maybe, you’ll learn to care less what others think, and care more about your own soul, your urges, your instinct,
YOUR INNER VOICE.
It is is YOURS.
WE NEED YOU.
WE NEED YOURS.
WE NEED YOU TO CREATE.
WE NEED YOU TO FIND YOUR VOICE.
WE NEED YOU TO STOP FIGHTING YOURSELF.
WE NEED YOU TO BE YOU.
Thank you, please. Amen. Thank you.
Running Into Life 
One line of the poem that particularly strikes me is, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body / love what it loves.” Yes, it does make sense to give ourselves permission to be what we were created to be, doesn’t it? 🙂
And: “Whether or not you share it, make that decision later, but first do the things you love.” It’s odd how we start out by thinking of the “practical use” of what we might create as a kind of pre-condition. That’s kind of putting the proverbial cart before the horse, isn’t it?
Some freeing encouragement here! Thank you, Kary.
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Donnie, I wanted to include the whole poem, but I can’t of course, because of copyright. Do a quick search and you’ll be able to read the rest. I’ve loved that poem and it turned me inside out. You’re right, we do often get to the end before we even begin. And there is nothing wrong with that, but also that beginning and doing are important. Hope you’re well, Donnie. Thank you!!
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