A friend recently loaned me a copy of Mary Oliver’s book Thirst, which was written after the death of her partner, Mary Malone Cook.

The Epilogue, which repeats the book’s title, reached into my heart. It begins:

“Another morning and I wake with thirst for goodness that I do not have.”

Oliver’s morning lament is not simply an admission of imperfection. It is the plea of someone who is still striving, even in old age.

As a late bloomer, I recognize her assertion that she has “never been a quick scholar” and asking God for a little more time.

But a little more time for what? In her case it is to simplify her life and to pack nothing, “except the prayers which, with this thirst, I am slowly learning.”

Which is to say, it is not too late to learn new prayers, sometimes with words, sometimes in silence “resting in God.”

Photo: Laguna Beach surf, CTK 2007