Mary Oliver Poem 5 – June

            Mary Oliver Poem 5 – June

In Owls and Other Fantasies, page 19, Mary Oliver captures the viewing experience of a swallow’s flight, likely in the sunny summer weather of June.  It’s a simple scene of a single swallow swooping in the air above an ocean (near a beach that the poem describes).  The swallow continually soars up and then dives as it catches and drops a feather.  It’s all described very lightheartedly, and quickly, much like an allegro paced piece of music.  From the start of the poem, the feeling that the reader should have is apparent and stays consistently excited through the whole piece.

The feather and the bird are described in words and phrases that capture their spirits.  The feather is “thin and white” and the swallow dances in the air with its “blue shoulders”.  Very light and bright colors are evoked here to paint a scene that’s lighthearted and gentle.  However, the sentence structure while describing these physical things also reflects on the nature of bird and feather.  It’s from a narrator’s perspective, commenting “[i]t flies too – or is it floating?” and “[n]ow the bird approaches land…[an] object is also over the beach.  A feather!”  These thoughts are quickly paced and excited, using short phrases and punctuation that brings words to life.  As I read this, I think about old animated cartoons of birds flying in the air and abruptly diving now and then, all the while an allegro orchestral piece plays in the background. 

            Many poems about nature is intentional and strategic, such as a bird of prey on the hunt, but this makes the swallow seem to play with the feather for sport!  After a number of times tossing the feather in the air, the bird lets the feather drop into the sea, and simply flies away into the distance.  Did the feather, or the bird’s actions, have any meaning in terms of survival or some definite purpose?  It did not.  However, this writing is not about a certain goal, but about the sensation of carefree fun.  It’s easy to forget that animals play as well as humans (I think to wolf or lion cubs, or even dogs and cats).  At this moment, I also think back to the name of this piece, June.  I was surprised at first that it was not called “the feather” or “the swallow”, but in retrospect, it makes sense.  This writing captures the feeling of summer, of freedom and rebirth, of bright suns and clear skies and sparkling oceans.  June indeed is the setting for the poem, but June is also a feeling that one has in their heart, and that the swallow exemplified in their play.