The Poem “Moles” was written by Mary Oliver. It is one of my dad’s favorite poems. He likes it because the language is rich and vivid. He said that you can almost feel the earth that the moles move through. It’s also a nature poem. It says to the readers that no life is small and meaningless even though on the surface the mole doesn’t seem to have any life at all. This mole “muzzles against the whole earth, finding it delicious”.
2003-07-08
Added by: sara
i dont think Oliver is so much talking about the meaningfullness of the mole's life, as she is of the simple delights of life itself. She's commenting on man's preoccupation with ambitions and accomplishments. While a mole accomplishes nothing except to become acquainted with the smells and tastes of the earth, who in the end has lived the better life? Man or mole?
2006-10-28
Added by: Brandon
I agree with both of you. Here this mole seems to have a pointless life, brief and meaningless, a life spend with it's face in the dirt. Yet still it "finds it delicious".
It's a nature poem, but it speaks much farther than just that. I see it as a very uplifting, optimistic poem. Even in a "bad" situation, when your face is in the dirt, youre blind, shy etc... still you can find life delicious. This is a poem about finding joy in any circumstances.