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

— Mary Oliver, 'The Summer Day', House of Light (1990)

About Mary Oliver

1935 – 2019

American poet and Pulitzer Prize winner (1984), known for her nature poetry, including 'The Summer Day'.

“You do not have to be good.”

“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

“I stood willingly and gladly in the characters of everything — other people, trees, clouds.”

“Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, but a quest for meaning.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

“Time wasted is existence, used is life.”

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.”