"Some Herons" by Mary Oliver

Source

A blue preacher flew
toward the swamp,
in slow motion.

On the leafy banks,
an old Chinese poet,
hunched in the white gown of his wings,

was waiting.
The water
was the kind of dark silk

that has silver lines
shot through it
when it is touched by the wind

or is splashed upward,
in a small, quick flower,
by the life beneath it.

The preacher
made his difficult landing,
his skirts up around his knees.

The poet's eyes
flared, just as a poet's eyes
are said to do

when the poet is awakened
from the forest of meditation.
It was summer.

It was only a few moment's past the sun's rising,
which meant that the whole long sweet day
lay before them.

They greeted each other,
rumpling their gowns for an instant,
and then smoothing them.

They entered the water,
and instantly two more herons--
equally as beautiful--

joined them and stood just beneath them
in the black, polished water
where they fished, all day.

A House of Learning - March

This is a little late, thanks to rampant technology problems, but I did so many things in March to make my house a house of learning!

1. Adjunct Dinner

I went to a fun, networking, celebratory dinner for the adjunct faculty of the English department. Aside from eating delicious food, I made some new friends among my co-workers. When I meet new people, I try to learn something from them, so I asked these lovely ladies to give me foreign language movie recommendations. Foreign movie marathon this summer?

2. Reading Series

The student readings were amazing. The university has lots of impressive talent in short essays, short stories, and poetry. I was inspired to write more for my Roxana Roy ghost story.

3. Stake Conference

Among the many things I gleaned from stake conference, foremost in my mind is the importance of waiting. Waiting is faith. Waiting is instruction. Waiting is, therefore, sacred.

I also learned to stop attending meetings and to start attending revelatory sessions. I got really excited about rebranding my meetings, especially since I have been experiencing adulthood burnout.

4. Face to Face

Elder Holland, Sister Stephens, and Elder Hallstrom kindly dropped some truth bombs into my lap, and I had a great time gathering with my neighbors to watch.

5. Women's Services Keynote: "Claiming Your Education" by Susan Madsen

From Dr. Madsen, I learned a lot about the ways in which Utah women fall behind the rest of the nation in percentages of college graduates. Many women feel that education is emphasized in Utah culture, but graduating from college is not part of that emphasis. Higher education actually benefits women in terms of economics, health and well-being, civic and community engagement, parenting, intellectual and cognitive skills, and self-development. So how do we help more women graduate? We can help them save money for college, visit college campuses, apply for and receive scholarships, and take AP courses. We need to encourage girls very early to obtain a college degree.

I applied this to my relationships with my cousins and my nieces (and nephews), so I am going to be talking up my college degree and bringing my family members to campus as often as I get a chance.

6. Mormon Insights contest submission

I submitted a piece of writing to a writing contest! I did not win, but I was proud of myself for finishing a project and submitting it. It's time to get back into that swing of things.

7. Education in Zion lecture: "My Journey as a Scholar of Faith" by Jini Roby

Dr. Roby spoke of her upbringing in war-torn Korea. She lived with her grandmother in a remote village where she learned as a survival mechanism, then as a love, then as a way to give back to her world. She outlearned her village teachers and, through a series of sacrifices on both her and her grandmother's parts, eventually made her way to Seoul for school. Unfortunately, she had to part ways with her grandmother, who couldn't survive in Seoul, so Dr. Roby lived in an orphanage. She was eventually adopted by a family in Utah, and now she does humanitarian research and work so that children do not have to suffer as she (and many others) did.

I loved hearing her story, so different from my own--though we both share a passion for, a relationship with, learning.

8. Chair of a panel for English Symposium (YA Lit)

I volunteered for the BYU English Symposium as a chair for the YA literature panel. I learned a lot from the presenters, all of whom were students reporting on original research they had done in their English and English Education majors. Topics ranged from cover art to the prominent trope of blacking out.

9. First 50 Years of Relief Society lecture

I bought a book so that I could see Eliza R. Snow's notes from her service as the Relief Society secretary. NERD.

10. Wu Man concert

Wu Man performed on a Chinese stringed instrument called the pipa, an onomatopoeia for the sound it makes. She was very personable and informative as she talked between pieces, and the music itself was so unique. I recommend looking her up on Youtube if you want a taste of the pipa.

11. International Cinema: The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

You guys. Werner Herzog took a documentary crew into an ancient cave and talked about what it means to be human, to make art, to have dreams. It was amazing. Highly, highly recommend.

12. Taste of Sunrise

This play was performed in ASL and speech, and several of the actors were deaf or hard of hearing. Sign language can be so dramatic and evocative--I loved watching the actors more so than in any other play. And also, I left the performance in tears.


I did several other things in March, but they will have to be in a separate post. I'm exhausted! Cheers!