Perhaps more than any other contemporary poet, Massachusetts own Mary Oliver sought to uncover what St. Bernard of Clairvaux called “the real behind the real.” Her explorations of nature, insights into humanity, and perception of creation bring us not only into contact with “the soul of the world” but with the very nature of God. Using her poems as guides, we will refresh our spirits, deepen our kinship with all of creation, and perhaps even answer the challenge her poetry poses to us all: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”