The Final State of the Union
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The Vice President spent the morning on this 8th Anniversary of the 9/11 tragedies at the ground zero reflecting pool in New York City. He read the poem entitled "Wild Geese" by American poet Mary Oliver:
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg place flowers in the ground zero reflecting pool in New York City, New York, Friday, September 11, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
love what it loves.
Vice President Joe Biden greets 9-11 families at the ground zero reflecting pool in New York City, New York, Friday, September 11, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Vice President Joe Biden and Second Lady Jill Biden greet 9-11 families at the ground zero reflecting pool in New York City, New York, Friday, September 11, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
are heading home again.
Vice President Joe Biden reads a poem at a September 11th ceremony in Zuccotti Park near ground zero, in New York City, New York, Friday, September 11, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.
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.
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.
Vice President Joe Biden is told about the significance of a particular American flag after reading a poem at a September 11th ceremony in Zuccotti Park near ground zero, in New York City, New York, Friday, September 11, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.
