40 Mary Oliver Quotes On Life, Love & More
Last updated on January 5th, 2024 at 10:51 am
“Mary Oliver Quote” by “Chronic Joy“, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
New York Times once described Mary Oliver as ‘far and away, country’s best-selling poet’. She is one of the most successful poets of our time. For her book, ‘American Primitive’, she won a Pulitzer Prize.
She has written about the beauty of nature and the environment. Her writing provides a whole different perspective of life. She believes in the idea that small things in life bring great joy. She has touched the hearts of millions through her words.
Her poems are written in such a way that they glorify Mother Nature. She is, in a true sense, a nature-lover and animal-lover. That is what she has depicted in most poems. Her work inspires the poets and creates a sensation of happiness among the readers.
Here is a list of Mary Oliver quotes that will beautifully transform your thinking. You are surely going to love these quotes. Share them with someone who is a nature-lover.
Mary Oliver Quotes On Life
Here are some Mary Oliver quotes about life. These quotes will broaden your perspective on life.
“It is a serious thing, just to be alive on this fresh morning, in this broken world.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: RED BIRD: POEMS
“So come to the pond, or the river of your imagination, or the harbor of your longing, and put your lips to the world. And live your life.”
MARY OLIVER
“I acknowledge my feeling and gratitude for life by praising the world and whoever made all these things.”
MARY OLIVER
“Listen–are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS, VOLUME TWO
“Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the piece of God that is inside each of us.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: BLUE PASTURES
“We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left.”
MARY OLIVER
“There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.”
MARY OLIVER
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: FACEBOOK
“I read the way a person might swim, to save his or her life. I wrote that way too.”
MARY OLIVER
“And to tell the truth I don’t want to let go of the wrists of idleness, I don’t want to sell my life for money, I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: WEST WIND: POEMS AND PROSE POEMS
SOURCE: SWAN: POEMS AND PROSE POEMS
“Animals praise a good day, a good hunt. They praise rain if they’re thirsty. That’s prayer. They don’t live an unconscious life.”
MARY OLIVER
Mary Oliver Love Quotes
Being a nature-lover, she has written many poems about love. These Mary Oliver quotes are sure to leave a deep impact on your heart and mind.
“From the complications of loving you I think there is no end or return.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: FACEBOOK
“I held my breath as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: WHY I WAKE EARLY: NEW POEMS
“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”
MARY OLIVER
SOURCE: DREAM WORK
“Also I wanted to be able to love. And we all know how that one goes, don’t we? Slowly.”
MARY OLIVER
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”
MARY OLIVER
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”
MARY OLIVER
“If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.”
MARY OLIVER
“There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But, who wants easier?”
MARY OLIVER
“To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.”
MARY OLIVER
“Two or three times in my life I discovered love. Each time it seemed to solve everything. Each time it solved a great many things but not everything. Yet left me as grateful as if it had indeed, and thoroughly, solved everything.”
MARY OLIVER
“In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love, and the ability to ask questions. Which are, at the same time, the fires that warm us and the fires that scorch us.”
MARY OLIVER
“Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born.”
MARY OLIVER
Mary Oliver Gratitude Quotes
Mary Oliver has written about life and gratitude. Here are some Mary Oliver quotes from her poems that tell us to be humble and grateful for this nature.
“Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.”
MARY OLIVER
“I held my breath as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us.”
MARY OLIVER
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.”
MARY OLIVER
“My work is the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird – equal seekers of sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.”
MARY OLIVER
“Poetry is a life-cherishing force.”
MARY OLIVER
“I have a little dog who likes to nap with me. He climbs on my body and puts his face in my neck. He is sweeter than soap.”
MARY OLIVER
“Always there is something worth saying about glory, about gratitude.”
MARY OLIVER
“Knowledge has entertained me and it has shaped me and it has failed me. Something in me still starves.”
MARY OLIVER
“Be prepared. A dog is adorable and noble. A dog is a true and loving friend.”
MARY OLIVER
“How could there be a day in your whole life that doesn’t have its splash of happiness?”
MARY OLIVER
“Sing, if you can sing, and it not still be musical inside yourself.”
MARY OLIVER
Mary Oliver is a vivid lover of natural beauty. Her work is all about the scenic and wondrous Mother Earth. We hope you have enjoyed reading these Mary Oliver quotes. Share these with someone who appreciates the mesmerizing beauty of nature.
You can also check out these 50 Cute Plant Quotes For All The Plant Lovers!
Ajit Pandey
Ajit Pandey graduated in Electronics & Communications Engineering and really loves being a good leader. When he's not doing tech stuff, he enjoys hanging out at swimming pools and going on hiking trails. Ajit writes cool articles and quotes about lots of different things he's into, giving you smart and inspiring ideas. Check out what he says for a cool view on both tech and life's adventures.
