Comments - Nothing is Too Small to be Wondered About

Poetry Outdoors
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Nothing is Too Small to be Wondered About

Jun 9
43
42
5
Your weekly Mary Oliver poem and writing prompt. Read →

Requiem for a Grasshopper

I took down a mug for my tea
from the high cupboards
of my kitchen
I went to pour
but there
at the base
was a grasshopper
the length of my finger nail
Still greenish
but dried out
long dead
Its body neat
legs tucked up
and out
like miniature triangles
all angles
but in perfect form

How did you get in there
Why did you hop
into my cup
When did you make
your final rest there
when there are seventy
potted plants
in my indoor garden
eight metres away

Little fellow
you could have
eaten your fill
of green leaves there
grown big enough
for me to hear
your pretty chirps
so I could release you
once I found you
into my outside garden
where the larger
hoppers hop

I've released so many
grasshoppers
before you
I've felt their strong legs
fighting to escape
my loosely closed hand
like frogs
or lizards
occasional butterflies
or the swallows
that nest in our eaves
that get a fright
as I open sliding doors
that lead to the patio
I free them all
I love to save
the living things
that lose their way

So why did you
spring into
my high cupboard
to make a tomb
in my teacup
when you could
have had
a life
that was
expansive
within the greenery
eating your way
to some great size
in the life
you were
hatched for
grasshopper

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Conclusion

This poetry sharing and the engagement it brings illustrates the impact of small moments in life that inspire creativity and reflection.