The Hand

"Grasshopper" by Mary Reufle (2020)

Another poem that stresses that engaging with the natural world shows the importance of life, much as the main character in “The Hand” knows something secret about life as they contemplate the animal outside of their classroom window. Here, the narrator invites the reader to “make a close study of life” (Line 5), because “Now is the time / to add a grasshopper / to your viatica” (Lines 8-9).

"Keeping it Simple" by Mary Reufle (1982)

This poem works well as an accompaniment to “The Hand” in its use of birds as a symbol for renewal, rebirth, and possibly of some greater knowing or meaning for life.

"Just as the Calendar Began to Say Summer" by Mary Oliver (2004)

Touching on very similar themes of a classroom, the desire for freedom into the natural world, and of seasons changing, this Mary Oliver poem tells the story of another student longing to escape school.

"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver (1992)

Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day” explores the impulse to idly stroll through the natural world, which links it to what the student in “The Hand” experiences, driving home the question of how one should spend their life.