My Mary Oliver Poem #6: "Backyard"

 

Backyard

I had no time to haul out all

the dead stuff so it hung, limp

or dry, wherever the wind swung it

over or down or across. All summer

it stayed that way, untrimmed, and

thickened. The paths grew

damp and uncomfortable and mossy until

nobody could get through but a mouse or a 

shadow. Blackberries, ferns, leaves, litter

totally without direction management

supervision. The birds loved it. 

This poem immediately transported me back home to New Jersey. Coincidentally, the poem is titled backyard, a reflection on the backyard of Oliver, and all I could think about was my backyard back home. On our three acres of property back home, at least 2 acres of it are untouched, uninhabited forest. It's one of my favorite places in the world. The forest floor carving out our familiar footpaths. We don't actively clear out the forest, we instead let it grow as it pleases. However, after hurricanes or storms or in the fall time, my father will head out into the forest to chop down dead or fallen trees for firewood.  This poem just reminded me of the beauty of the Northeast wilderness. When we actively don't tend to the wilderness, it's awe inspiring of what it creates. The brush grows thicker, the trees block any sun to the forest floor making the dirt damp beneath your feet. Weeds spring up everywhere on the ground. The branches stretch out in whatever direction they desire, interlocking and growing into and around neighboring branches. Occasionally and sadly, empty beer cans or water bottles or glass bottles of liquor are found on the forest floor, from previous hikers lack of respect for the environment. What I adore so much about this poem in the last two lines, that Oliver's backyard grew and covered everything without direction management and that the birds loved it. It's a direct image in my mind of my backyard, the uncleared part of land that grows how it pleases and all the wildlife that calls it home. The bears and deer and squirrels and chipmunks, yes. But the turkeys, the woodpeckers, the gold finches, the cardinals, the blue jays, the red tail hawks, the crows, and the owls, that call those trees and forest home. The birds love those woods, and I love watching them interact with their home that we both share. What a delightful thing, that both Oliver and I share the same sentiments about our backyards.