I Will Try

I will try. 
I will step from the house to see what I see
and hear and I will praise it. 
I did not come into this world
to be comforted. 
I come, like red bird, to sing. 
But I'm not red bird, with his head-mop of flame
and the red triangle of his mouth
full of tongue and whistles, 
but a woman whose love has vanished 
who thinks now, too much, of roots
and the dark places
where everything is simply holding on. 
But this too, I believe, is a place
where God is keeping watch
until we rise, and step forth again and--
but wait. Be still. Listen! 
Is it red bird? Or something
inside myself, singing? 

~ Mary Oliver, "I Will Try" from 'Red Bird'