Making The House Ready For The Lord

Making the House Ready for the Lord
Mary Oliver

Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but

   still nothing is as shining as it should be

for you. Under the sink, for example, is an

uproar of mice it is the season of their

many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves

   and through the walls the squirrels

have gnawed their ragged entrances —but it is the season

when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And

the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard

   while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;

what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling

   in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly

up the path, to the door. And I still believe you will

   come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,

the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know

   that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,

as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

— From: Thirst. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006.