Find Your Wild: Unforgettable Mary Oliver Quotes for Every Season

Mary Jane Oliver was a well-known non-fiction author and poet, who won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize as well as the National Book Award for her work “House of Light” and “American Primitive.” The New York Times even described her as “far and away, this country’s best-selling poet” in 2007.

She has distinctly described true picturesque scenes which glorify the majesty of Mother Earth through her work. Mary Oliver’s theme of writing is directed towards the simple things in life which can create a euphoria that people usually ignore to recognize in pursuit of material things.

Her poetry also blends dark introspection with a joyful release, which is why she was often being compared to Emily Dickinson, with whom she shared a fondness for inner monologues and solitude.

Oliver was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012 but was treated and granted a clean bill of health. On the 17th of January 2019, she eventually passed away due to lymphoma at her home in Florida.

Here are some of Mary Oliver’s most memorable quotes and reflections on life, creativity, and the world around us.

Fun fact: Mary Oliver loved wandering in the woods so much that she often carried a notebook on her daily walks, jotting down poems as inspiration struck.

Best Mary Oliver Quotes (All-Time Favorites)

Let’s start with some of her most famous, widely shared quotes—the lines that have inspired countless readers around the world.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

—From the poem “The Summer Day” in House of Light (1990)
This line is perhaps Oliver’s most iconic. It’s a clarion call to live intentionally, reminding us that life is fleeting and precious.

Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

—From the poem “Sometimes” in Red Bird (2008)
Here, Oliver distills her entire philosophy: notice the world, allow yourself to wonder, and share what you find.

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

—From the poem “Wild Geese” in Dream Work (1986)
With gentle defiance, Oliver reminds us to embrace our humanity and release perfectionism.

To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.

—From “Yes! No!” in New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992)
Oliver elevates attention into a spiritual practice, urging us to truly see the world and our place within it.

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.

—From the poem “The Uses of Sorrow” in Thirst (2006)
Her wisdom teaches that pain, loss, and darkness are also teachers, shaping our growth.

Mary Oliver Quotes on Nature and Presence

Mary Oliver’s poetry is a lifelong love letter to the natural world. She found sacredness in ordinary moments: a wildflower, a bird’s song, the sweep of the seasons. Her work reminds us that connecting with nature grounds us in the present and reveals meaning.

I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.

—From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems (2010)
Oliver’s take: Joy and kindness are as much a part of nature as beauty or pain. Embracing life’s mischievous moments is a way to celebrate being alive.

Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight… that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.

—From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems (2010)
Oliver reminds us: When we truly notice the world, every day can astonish us.

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.

—From the poem “In Blackwater Woods” in American Primitive (1983)
This meditation on impermanence is classic Oliver—balancing deep connection and gentle acceptance.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

—From the poem “Wild Geese” in Dream Work (1986)
Oliver’s “family of things” is the natural world, where everyone belongs.

Mary Oliver Quotes on Mindfulness and Stillness

Mary Oliver’s work is a meditation on presence. Her poems teach us to pause, breathe, and listen—both to the world and to ourselves.

Attention is the beginning of devotion.

—From Upstream: Selected Essays (2016)
Mindfulness, for Oliver, isn’t just noticing—it’s a form of reverence.

Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.

—From the poem “It Was Early” in Evidence (2009)
Oliver’s message: You don’t need to seek miracles—they’re found in ordinary moments.

Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.

—From the poem “Evidence” in Evidence (2009)
Hope, wonder, and possibility are always close at hand if we allow them.

Mary Oliver Quotes on Joy, Wonder, and Gratitude

Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.

—From New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992)
Oliver’s “work” is learning to be amazed by the world, again and again.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

—From the poem “When Death Comes” in New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992)
To live fully, Oliver urges us to “marry” ourselves to awe and gratitude.

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.

—From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems (2010)
Life is brief, and joy is not to be denied.

Mary Oliver Quotes on Life, Death, and Meaning

Oliver never shied away from mortality, grief, or meaning. Her reflections on life and death are honest, tender, and reassuring.

Death waits for me, I know it, around one corner or another. This doesn’t depress me. It just makes me grateful for each ordinary day.

—From Long Life: Essays and Other Writings (2004)
Facing death, Oliver chooses gratitude and presence.

When it’s over, I want to say: I have loved my life.

—From the poem “When Death Comes” in New and Selected Poems, Volume One (1992)*
A call to live so deeply that you leave nothing unspoken or unloved.

We need beauty because it makes us ache to be worthy of it.

—From Upstream: Selected Essays (2016)
Oliver sees beauty as both a gift and a responsibility—a reason to live well.

Mary Oliver Quotes on Courage, Creativity, and Self-Discovery

Mary Oliver was a quiet revolutionary—her work brims with courage, creative risk, and an ongoing search for the self.

You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.

—From Upstream: Selected Essays (2016)
Oliver’s advice: Stay playful, and own your choices.

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work… and gave to it neither power nor time.

—From Upstream: Selected Essays (2016)
To live fully is to answer your creative call, whatever that may look like.

Why Mary Oliver’s Words Endure

Mary Oliver’s poetry and prose endure because they are both deeply simple and profoundly wise. She permits us to pay attention, to love the world, and to find meaning in both joy and sorrow.

Her voice invites us to step outside, to look closely, and to remember that every day is a miracle. Let her words remind you to live more fully, love more openly, and be astonished by the ordinary.