Mary in the world (Mary Oliver)

  To live in this world 

you must be able 

to do three things: 

to love what is mortal; 

to hold it 

                                    

against your bones knowing 

your own life depends on it; 

and, when the time comes to let it 

go, 

to let it go. 

  --Excerpt, Mary Oliver,  

Into Blackwater Woods  

 Image source:  The Fourth Station, stained glass, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley 

 Poem source