Figuring Out What Beauty Is For

It has been almost three years since we went to Atlantic to see the swans. I see they are there again now. Maybe?? 

To start this new year off right, here is a poem from one of my favorite poets. 

The Swan By Mary Oliver

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?

Being aware of my natural surroundings, even through the window is a panacea for me. But being in nature, under the sky, amid trees, close to water, anywhere outside is the best. It is not a New Year's resolution, but my hope - and goal - is to be out there again this year.  💞🌳👣🚶