I try to be good but sometimes a person just has to break out and act like the wild and springy thing one used to be. It's impossible not to remember wild an want it back.
Mary OliverRead
I don't know lots of things but I know this: next year when spring flows over the starting point I'll think I'm going to drown in the shimmering miles of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature and the overwhelming feelings it can evoke.
Mary Oliver's quote captures the essence of renewal and the emotional intensity that comes with the arrival of spring. The imagery of spring flowing over a starting point symbolizes new beginnings and the beauty of nature, while the feeling of potentially 'drowning' suggests an overwhelming connection to the vibrant life and beauty that spring represents, illustrating how deeply one can feel in response to the natural world.
Themes
SpringNatureBeautyRenewalEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the impact of nature on our emotions, you could use this quote to illustrate the profound connection we feel in spring.
More from Mary Oliver
All quotes →At the time I was growing up, literature was involved with the so-called confessional poets. And I was not interested in that. I did not think that specific and personal perspective functioned well for the reader at all.
Mary OliverRead
I know the sag of the unfinished poem. And I know the release of the poem that is finished.
Mary OliverRead
For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.
Mary OliverRead
If I have any lasting worth, it will be because I have tried to make people remember what the Earth is meant to look like.
Mary OliverRead
Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.
Mary OliverRead
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