Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body 5 love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, 10 over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, 15 the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting- over and over announcing your place in the family of things. I chose this poem because I am frequently comparing myself to other people, and am constantly holding myself to a higher standard than I need to. This poem basically says life goes on and you do not need to be perfect, which I feel I can really relate to. The tone of this poem is comforting and kind, using long, drawn out sentences to convey a soft and informal tone to better relate and feel comforted by. The word choice of this poem uses comforting and repeating important words that help create a personable tone. Oliver repeats "you do not have to" to make the tone soft and soothing, and Oliver does not use extravegant, difficult words that many poems do. By using words that everyone knows, it creates a comforting and understanding tone. Imagery and figurative language in this include bright and happy metaphors and imagery, such as imagery of a lush prairy and personifying geese in the "clean blue air" which is a bright and peaceful figuartive language. The style is comfortable as well. Like I said earlier, it is not difficult to understand and does not use complex figurative language or diction to convey what it means. Also, it uses long sentences to seem informal. The theme of the poem is that Ultimately life goes on, so do not worry if you are not perfect.