Today I will join the parade of people wondering . . . where August has gone; where summer has gone. How CAN IT BE – already – the middle of August?

But here we are.

And today, on the third Thursday of the month, I’m sharing a lovely poem by Mary Oliver . . . written about a day in August. It’s actually (as fine poetry tends to be) more universal than just a poem about August; it speaks (to me, anyway) to the circularity of time. It’s a poem included in my very favorite Mary Oliver collection, Red Bird, and isn’t often included in her anthology collections, so maybe you’ll be less familiar with this one. Enjoy.

And enjoy these last days of August, too. They’re fleeting. And you’ll want to remember them when the weather turns cold and the nights are long and dark.

Swimming, One Day in August
Mary Oliver

It is time now, I said,
for the deepening and quieting of the spirit
among the flux of happenings.

Something had pestered me so much
I thought my heart would break.
I mean, the mechanical part.

I went down in the afternoon
to the sea
which held me, until I grew easy.

About tomorrow, who knows anything.
Except that it will be time, again,
for the deepening and quieting of the spirit.

Today’s poem was first published in Red Bird: Poems by Mary Oliver, Beacon Press, 2008. You can learn more about Mary Oliver, and read some of her other poems, here.

==========

You can find A Gathering of Poetry every month . . . on the third Thursday.
Share some.
Read some.
Gather up some poetry!

(Bonny is hosting a special link-up for A Gathering of Poetry. Be sure to check it out!)