poetry texts, poem archive at plagiarist.com

jough, i disagree strongly with your opinion. i believe this is a wonderful poem with deep meaning from mary oliver's background

well said, logan!

the truth is, the experience is just the same. there are many, lives-- MANY individual lives, yes, but there is always the SAME experience.

though we do have our individuality, we are also connected to everyone else in the world, simply because we all live in the same world at the same time.

and yes, we do have to be told, being the imperfect creatures that we are. otherwise, i guess one person is enough for the world.

to assume that all people realize the same truths and therefore don't need to be told anymore is ridiculous and dangerous. it's a sign of indifference and it means you have knock yourself silly every once in a while.

if poetry is not universal, then why publish it? if it is merely self-expression and not "self-expression with at least a hint of universality", then i don't see why I should give a hoot about reading other people's poetry.

this notion of poetry not being universal and ONLY individualistic is untenable. though poetry is spoken through individual experiences, its themes have always been universal--love, death, estrangement, etc. the themes are not cliche. they're universal, and there's nothing wrong with that. what's susceptible to being wrong is how a poem is written, and WHY.

if poetry published is PURELY self-expression and individualisic, then a lot of drivel must be out in print. the world today is already full of self-expression and individualism.

we're already so full of ourselves. so add some sense in us. add some connection among us.

Mary Oliver, you did good.

Poetry is what you want it to be! Why are we trying to define what poetry is and isn't? Why are we trying to classify. To some this is a meaningful and touching poem, and yet to others it just "is".

I personally appreciate the simplicity. I think that the simplicity of it matches the message and so it serves a purpose...then again...I'm not an "EXPERT" on poetry...she say's with sarcasm.

My, or anyone's, experience must necessarily be with truth, since nothing can be otherwise. This poetry must as well. The fact that Oliver expresses some of that truth with such beauty (putting aside that they are two facets of the same) makes her poetry worthwhile. It causes the soul to sing, and whether there is meaning behind the song is irrelevant, though one suspects there must be.

i really enjoy the poem. it is an inspiration to one's soul. It has a high value or lessons that one can acheive from.