Zach Klein- week 20- Mary Oliver

      I am so glad that I chose Mary Oliver as the poet that I wanted to analyze in my blogs this year. Her poems are concise but have taught me different lessons through nature. I have enjoyed imagining the nature she describes in her poems while also learning the different lessons she teaches.

This week I chose to analyze her poem called, “Breakage”. This poem describes what the author sees when she goes to the edge of the sea. She mentions the “moon snails”, the “opened, blue mussels” and “the broken cupboard of the clam.” All these descriptions allow us to imagine the different animals that one can see at the shore of the ocean. All these images can combine into one message if we look at the bigger picture. Mary compares the edge of the sea to a schoolhouse. She explains how you have to look at each image by itself in order to slowly read the whole story. 

I think the underlying message in this poem is that we cannot look at the little things in life. In fact, they don’t matter too much. What matters in life is the big picture. All the little things just help us reach our larger goals. This lesson can be seen at the edge of the ocean. All the animals and natural occurrences that we witness at the edge of the water are just the beginning of the entire ocean. The shore only gives us a gist of what the ocean is actually like. Life is similar in that the little things we do barely impact our lives, but our identity is who we really are. I would like to personally thank Mary Oliver for being my poet of choice this year. Drop you thoughts below on the message of this poem.