About Angels and About Trees

Mary Oliver

Where do angels fly in the firmament,

and how many can dance on the head of a pin?

Well, I don’t care about that pin dance,

what I know is that they rest, sometimes,

in the tops of the trees

and you can see them, or almost see them,

or, anyway, think: what a wonderful idea.

I have lost as you and others have possibly lost

A beloved one,

and wonder, where are they now?

The trees, anyway, are miraculous,

full of angels (ideas);

even empty they are a good place to look,

to put the heart at rest—all those

leaves breathing the air,

so peaceful and diligent,

and certainly, ready to be

the resting place of strange, winged creatures

that we, in this world, have loved.