"When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."

When Death Comes | 1992

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

new and selected poems | january 1992

"The patterns of our lives reveal us. Our habits measure us. Our battles with our habits speak of dreams yet to become real."

Long Life: Essays and Other Writings | march 2005

"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."

Red Bird: Poems | january 2009

"Love yourself. Then forget it. Then, love the world."

To Begin With, the Sweet Grass | april 2009

"Be prepared. A dog is adorable and noble. A dog is a true and loving friend. A dog is also a hedonist."

Dog Songs | august 2013

"Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift."

Dog Songs | august 2013

"I know, you never intended to be in this world. But you're in it all the same. So why not get started immediately. I mean, belonging to it. There is so much to admire, to weep over."

Blue Horses: Poems | october 2014

"Things take the time they take. Don't worry."

Mary Oliver ~ Listening to the World | february 2015