Mary Oliver on Winter Snow

This is what it looks like in the woods in my backyard
right now - a snowy wonderland.

Mary Oliver's poems about winter do more than just describe the season; they explore our deep connection with nature and prompt us to reflect on our place in the world. 

Oliver invites us to appreciate the quiet beauty found in the cold, the stillness, and the brief moments of winter.

Whether you feel peace or sadness during this time, her poetry encourages us to value the meaningful experiences that winter brings and to recognize the fleeting nature of life itself.

First Snow by Mary Oliver

The snow
began here
this morning and all day
continued, its white
rhetoric everywhere
calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.

The silence

is immense,

and the heavens still hold

a million candles, nowhere

the familiar things:

stars, the moon,

the darkness we expect

and nightly turn from. 

Trees glitter like castles

of ribbons, the broad fields

smolder with light, a passing

creekbed lies

heaped with shining hills;

and though the questions

that have assailed us all day

remain — not a single

answer has been found –

walking out now

into the silence and the light

under the trees,

and through the fields,

feels like one.

The common comparison of life to a snowflake emphasizes the beauty, fragility, and uniqueness of each person's journey.

Snowflakes are temporary, existing only for a short time before melting away. 

This can serve as a reminder of the impermanence of life and the importance of living in the moment.

Life is too short to fill entirely with work and shopping and little else.

That is why when I leave the house, it is rarely to go into town, and most often is to go into the snowy woods instead.

I want to live as naturally as I can as often as I can, before I melt.