rediscovering poetry

"Messenger" by Mary Oliver from Thirst
(again, found at The Writer's Almanac)

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the
hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast;
there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not
half-perfect?
Let me keep my mind on what matters,
which is my
work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the
sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.