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More poems by Mary OliverMary Oliver | Print this page.Print | View and Write CommentsComments (3) | Books by Mary OliverBooks by Mary Oliver

Moles

Mary Oliver

   
Under the leaves, under
the first loose
levels of earth
they're there -- quick
as beetles, blind
as bats, shy
as hares but seen
less than these --
traveling
among the pale girders
of appleroot,
rockshelf, nests
of insects and black
pastures of bulbs
peppery and packed full
of the sweetest food:
spring flowers.
Field after field
you can see the traceries
of their long
lonely walks, then
the rains blur
even this frail hint of them -- 
so excitable,
so plush,
so willing to continue
generation after generation
accomplishing nothing
but their brief physical lives
as they live and die,
pushing and shoving
with their stubborn muzzles against
the whole earth,
finding it
delicious.

Added: 2 Mar 2002 | Last Read: 7 Jun 2025 4:14 PM | Viewed: 8329 times

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URL: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/3168/ | Viewed on 7 June 2025.
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