Mary Oliver

Loneliness

isolation lyric poem gentle

Loneliness - meaning Summary

Nature as Steadfast Comfort

The poem presents loneliness as a painful experience of rejection and diminished self-worth, but finds relief in the natural world. Speaking directly to "mother earth," the speaker describes rivers, roses, and natural movement as steady sources of welcome and tenderness. Nature does not erase loneliness; instead, it offers a dependable form of belonging when human understanding seems absent.

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I too have known loneliness. I too have known what it is to feel misunderstood, rejected, and suddenly not at all beautiful. Oh, mother earth, your comfort is great, your arms never withhold. It has saved my life to know this. Your rivers flowing, your roses opening in the morning. Oh, motions of tenderness!

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