Mary Oliver Would Ask Me

Mallory Gunther

To go touch grass.

To stop tossing worrywart

Wishes down the future well,

Tucking my hands under my lap.

With a guiding pinch to my shoulder

Mary Oliver would ask,

Can you see those herons?

Watch them hovering

Over the waterway now.

See how their talons

Skim thin surface?

Like scratching glass,

Glistening in sun-stained shatter.

Do you see how those gators

Glide slow through the canal?

Going against the current,

Pointed grins towards the sky?

Did you hear those ducks drop

In sudden dive? The crash

Of wild splash. Just now!

Can you hear how the water

Wicks quick off their slick wings?

Can you hear the bubbling

Of their small bodies bobbing,

Snorkeling in synchrony?

Do any of these beings

Seem worried to you?

Published in Issue No. 4, Musa et Verbum, January 1st, 2025.

Mallory Gunther is a writer who hails from the Midwest but finds herself everywhere, most recently in New York and Florida. She is a recipient of the Will C. Jumper award and has previously published poetry in Gasher Journal.