Book #4: Thirst

Thirst, a book of poems by Mary Oliver, has been in and out of my sidebar for over a year now. I've been dipping into it since the fall of 2006, when I briefly owned it in hardcover before giving it to a friend. Although it was the subject of a book discussion at RevGalBlogPals, I have to admit that yesterday was the day I finally read all the poems instead of dipping into the book here and there.

reverendmother mentioned in her review of the book that there are a few themes in Oliver's poems that repeat over the years, and that is very true. I also agree that the masculine pronouns Oliver uses for God at times are a bit jarring.

But my overall feeling after reading the whole range of the poems is joyfulness. There are more pages turned down in the book than I can quote from here, and those are just from the poems I read for the first time yesterday.I am happy that Mary Oliver, who has expanded my sense of the Divine through her poetry about nature, is getting some meaning from the sacramental relationship that means so much to me. I feel like we've met on both our home courts now.