Mary Oliver stands among the most beloved contemporary American poets. She died in 2019 at age 84, leaving behind a vast body of work. Her abiding love for the natural world began in childhood, when she sought refuge in the woods to escape her chaotic, abusive family.

Oliver constantly invites readers to slow down and pay attention to the wonders just outside their doors. She spent most of her adult life in Provincetown, RI, walking every day with a little notebook in hand to jot down ideas and images. Her poems focus on grasshoppers and waves and goldfinches and sunflowers—everyday beauty that filled her with awe.

Stop for a moment and soak in her poem, “Why I Wake Early”:

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who made the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light –

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

How can you follow Oliver’s lead and greet the sun each day? You may find yourself in the land

of happiness and kindness!

Devotions contains Oliver’s selected poems from 1963 to 2015. If you want one book of

Mary Oliver poetry in your library, this is the book to have.