The Marsh, Almost Full

Out of the sump rise the marigolds.
From the rim of the marsh, muslin with mosquitoes,
rises the egret, in his cloud-cloth.
Through the soft rain, like mist, and mica,
the withered acres of moss begin again.

When I have to die, I would like to die
on a day of rain--
long rain, slow rain, the kind you think will never end.

And I would like to have whatever little ceremony there might be
take place while the rain is shoveled and shoveled out of the sky,

and anyone who comes must travel, slowly and with thought,
as around the edges of the great swamp.

Marengo, by Mary Oliver


After much rain (the kind of rain that wakes you up in the night pounding on the roof, and continues on and off all day) the marsh is higher than it has been since early spring, so much so that a group of cormorants came down as far as the bridge to hang out and fish.