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When Mary Oliver Says, ‘What Gorgeous Thing!’

I agree in the morning light, in flight

              in sun glimmer over the riverbank

through the round of the round, I see what I want to see

                            the trees, the golden, the blue, the brow, the peach and only

              you, your face—you gorgeous thing—that you are to me

                            and in the rip of the water, in the turn

              of tide and debris; the moment moves—nothing is the same.

                                                                      We nest and nestle

              within woods, and the tree line

              trims the sky of blue

                            trims the sky

                            into shapes unknown.

Love, love, love

to be vulnerable in time together is a gift

              is the sun on our faces; is the sun

              in your eyes;

                                          you are the sun

                                          of my days;

                                                        the day of the sun

                                          I glimpse that swirl

              at the river’s bank

                            its turn, and it carries me out,

                            it stirs inside me such whimsy—this

is the beauty of a day—

              that life is fleeting. that nothing stays

                            that nothing stays the same forever.

Leah Umansky is the author of three collections of poetry, most recently, OF TYRANT (Word Works Books, 2024). She earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and has curated The COUPLET Reading Series in NYC since 2011. Her work has been featured in PBS, The New York Times, The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A Day, POETRY, Plume, and elsewhere. This poem is from her new manuscript-in-progress, ORDINARY SPLENDOR, a book on wonder, joy, and love. This poem owes a debt to Josh Sapan and the River House residency. More at @leah.umansky on IG or @lady_bronte on X.

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