Mary Oliver: While I am writing a poem to celebrate summer, the Meadowlark begins to sing

 I love how this poem shows how quickly out minds can jump from idea to idea while still being enthralled in our surroundings. Oliver begins writing the opening about the glory of the experiences of nature in everyday life. A few lines later she decides to switch her focus to the song of the meadowlark and praise its simple existence in life. This poem is very sweet and reflective in nature. It reminds me of just laying outside in summer and taking in all the heat, flowers, birds, and the environment as a whole. She personifies the flowers as she describes daisies with, "their small, ecstatic faces" and roses "come to bud then open like little soft sighs." It reflects how delicate and sweet these flowers are as they rest within nature under the song of the meadowlark. The whole poem reminds me of a prayer of thanksgiving for the beauty and splendor of nature. The poem opens and closes with "oh Lord" as she dives into describing the clouds, trees, and other elements of summertime. The meadowlark is the shining star as she reflects on the beauty of its song as it sings by fencepost and his tiny grass hut. It has an overall whimsical feel as we explore the lives of the birds and the flowers. There is almost too much to be thankful for so she highlights both ending with the "thrill-song, its anthem, its thanks, its alleluia. Alleluia, oh Lord."