Excerpt from Invitation by Mary Oliver
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busyand very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
…
as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mineand not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude-
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thingjust to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.
I beg of you,do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performanceIt could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
— Mary Oliver