Mary Oliver's When Death Comes

Mary Oliver’s “When Death Comes”

When I first saw the title “When death comes” I expected a poem filled with saddening reminders of how short life can be. At a second glimpse I realized that this was not the case in fact quite the opposite seems to be true. Through her poem Mary Oliver opens deep questions on death and the mystery that surrounds it. It is oddly inspiring that Mary Oliver was able to use these questions on death to capture such an optimistic outlook and inspiring way of life in her poem. Although the poem starts with grim words referencing death and how prompt it can arrive. It transforms more into a motto for life that I myself find quite inspiring. Mary Oliver “When Death Comes” directly and successfully conveys a
The poem says “I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:/what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?” Mary Oliver seems to be saying that she wants to step into death fully content and gratified with the life she has held. It hints at a certain wonderment she has of what comes after death, heaven and hell, or reincarnation, or nothing at all. After reading this I considered if Mary Oliver was religious herself. I myself believe she herself is simply an admirer of life and fascinated by its mysteries. We see that in many of her works she writes of the natural world and its many mysteries. It is this fascination of mystery that I believe to play such a vital role in her many poems. In an interview with Maria Shiver for O Magazine we get a glimpse of Mary Oliver’s views on the subject. Mary Oliver: “I have written that God has so many names. To me it’s alright if you look at a tree, as the Hindus do, and say the tree has a spirit. It’s a mystery, and mysteries don’t compromise themselves—we 're never going to know. I think about the spiritual a great deal. I like to think of myself as a praise poet.” Maria Shriver: “What does that mean exactly” Mary Oliver: “That I acknowledge my feeling and gratitude for life by praising the world and whoever made all these things.” Reading Maria Shriver’s interview as well as other poems by Mary Oliver tell me that Mary
It tells us not to live day to day but to enjoy life and explore the world that surrounds us. Mary Oliver begins with “I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood/and I look upon time as no more than an idea/and I consider eternity as another possibility”. When brotherhood and sisterhood are mentioned I can only assume this to mean that all life is connected in sense that we all share the same environment and live in the same world. It seems that the poem is suggesting that although no one life should be greater than the next, we are all in this together. When she speaks of time as an idea and eternity as another possibility I feel as though she is again referencing the mystery of death. She tells us that in death anything is possible, there is simply no way of knowing what happens when you die and therefore anything is possible. Mary Oliver continues with saying that she looks upon “each name a comfortable music in the mouth/tending, as all music does, towards silence.” Hinting to me that all life has potential to be fun and pleasant and that all life eventually has its conclusion. She continues with “and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.” I believe this to mean each and every life has the ability to do wonderful things and the ability for boundless influence in our world. It also tells us that every life is a precious commodity, one