August

August

-by Mary Oliver

When the blackberries hang

swollen in the woods, in the brambles

nobody owns, I spend

all day among the high

branches, reaching

my ripped arms, thinking

of nothing, cramming

the black honey of summer

into my mouth; all day my body

accepts what it is. In the dark

creeks that run by there is

this thick paw of my life darting among

the black bells, the leaves; there is

this happy tongue.

When I read this poem, it instantly made me picture a girl eating blackberries from a tree and I also thought that it would be nice to be in this poem since it's so cold out here. At first, I thought this poem was about Mary Oliver's personal experience when she was little, but then I thought that 'my life darting among the black bells' was a metaphor. I think she was trying to symbolize our life into blackberries and that we have to accept it as it is. I also think that she was picturing a day when we just relax and spend time thinking of our own life and enjoying it.

My questions are: 1) Do you have any other analysis of what Mary Oliver was trying to say? 2) Why do you think she picked blackberries to use as a symbol? 3) What do you think 'there is this happy tongue' mean?