Oliver uses symbolism and imagery to make the reader do a little mental and soul searching. Likewise, she emphasizes the reader using their imagination and memory. To relate to the reader, she uses the metaphor of geese flying across the sky. This creates a scene most individuals are familiar with. This experience is calm and almost intriguing to watch the geese fly in their formations toward the north or south. The scene becomes a moment of thought and not an observance of the geese. Oliver suggests the reader “fly home” and find peace like the geese do. Oliver could have only written that you are not alone, however, giving an image can impact the reader more. After reading “Wild Geese,” the reader goes through self-realization and finds their place in nature.
Many believe the best way to understand Mary Oliver’s poem is to analyze each line and find the underlying meaning through their imagination. In the first line, she reminds us that we do not have to be perfect, “you do not have to be good.” (1). Oliver explains that we “…do not have to walk on your knees / for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting…” (2-3). Oliver is making a
Cited: McNally, Terrence. Andre’s Mother. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2005. 1916-18. Print. Oliver, Mary. Dream Work. Boston: Atlantic Monthly, 1986. 14. Print. Oliver, Mary. “Wild Geese.” A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry. Ed. Czeslaw Milosz. New York: Harcourt, 1996. 40. Print.