Published in Issue 23 of Poetry Hall
Writing prompt “To live in this world you must be able to do three things...” from the poem “Blackwater Woods”by Mary Oliver from American Primitive.
To live in this world
you will swallow oceans
will ebb and flow with the tides like the saline creature you are
will cough stones from your throat
to unlock a wild song.
To live in this world
you will radiate light,
to see your path and to guide others,
will acknowledge that light may waver but will not go out.
To live in this world
you will taste richness -
cocoa, cream, spices, lips
lick sweat from skin
and the iron of blood.
To live in this world
your body will become a pillar of flame,
dancing with no direction or reason
threatened by wind gusts.
Remember, to live in this world
you must be able to do three things:
To alchemize grief
To take a haystack and spin it into golden thread
And when your magic is done, and you've gathered
the holy water of salted tears,
To weave them into the great story that is ours.
Emily Richart 