Mary Oliver Wall Hanging

What I loved in the beginning, I think, was mostly myself.Never mind that I had to, since somebody had to.That was many years ago.Since then I have gone out from my confinements,through with difficulty.I mean the ones that thought to rule my heart.I cast them out, I put them on the mush pile.They will be nourishment somehow (everything is nourishmentsomehow or another).And I have become the child of the clouds, and of hope.I have become the friend of the enemy, whoever that is.I have become older and, cherishing what I have learned,I have become younger. And what do I risk to tell you this, which is all I know?Love yourself.  Then forget it.  Then, love the world. - Mary Oliver, excerpt from To Begin With, the Sweet Grass