Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

Added: on April 20th, 2006 at 9:31 PM | Viewed: 10752 times | Comments (2)

Poet: Mary Oliver
Poem: The Swan

Year: Published/Written in 1992

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Swan, has received 2 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Mary Oliver with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!