Mary Oliver Poem #4: Night Flight

In my opinion, one of the best ways to observe nature is from 35,000 feet above sea level. The ability to fly on an airplane provides people with the chance to experience nature from a different perspective. This is why I always enjoy sitting in the window seat, in order to gaze out upon the Earth around me. For this reason, when I was looking through Mary Oliver’s poems, I was intrigued when I saw the poem “Night Flight”. I was shocked to find this poem doesn’t revolve around Mary Oliver’s direct interaction with nature, but rather with her simply riding on an aircraft. 

The first stanza reads: 
“Traveling at thirty thousand feet, we see 
How much of earth still lies in wilderness, 
Till terminals occur like miracles
To civilize the paralyzing dark.”

After reading this first stanza, I remembered how easy it is to forget about the vast amount of land untouched by human civilization. I recalled the teachings of Edward Abbey and David Thoreau on the importance of preservation and immersion in the wild. I also connected this stanza to our previous discussions regarding the “thought of nature” as a source of tranquility for the mind. Personally, I feel at peace when on a plane because I can easily picture myself as a part of nature. Throughout the remainder of the poem, Mary Oliver touches on the wisdom one can obtain from gazing at the Earth from the skies above. 

“Discarding smoothly, as we disembark, 
All thoughts that held us wiser for a moment
Up there alone, in the impartial dark” 

Mary Oliver's specific word choice describing the dark as “paralyzing” and “impartial” can be attributed to the wilderness's uncertain nature. Mary's contrast of the dark wilderness to the lights of human civilization made this poem an interesting read.

Below I included a couple of my favorite photos from the sky. This collection includes images from the Pacific Ocean, Hoover Dam, and the Grand Canyon.