What is the "sweet passion of one-ness"?

Question 1 options:

A)

being by yourself in the woods

B)

forgetting your responsibilities and doing what you want

C)

experiencing that your are part of nature, not separate.

D)

flapping your arms as if you were a white heron

What is this "miraculous pyramid of everything"?

Question 3 options:

A)

a visual representation of the hierarchy of living things

B)

a giant pyramid containing all living beings

C)

a reference to ancient beings

D)

a symbol suggesting reverence to all creatures, living and deceased.

This is referencing the "Reckless Poem" by Mary Oliver, I hope you actually read it!

1. Dissect the sentence. First, we have the phrase "sweet passion". What does that mean? Well, I interpret it to mean "a strong, pleasant emotion, created by a desire or enthusiasm for doing or being something". The next part "of one-ness", means being one with something. One-ness means "the fact or state of being unified or whole, though comprised of two or more parts" according to the dictionary. In this poem, she's talking about nature, and how she feels that she and nature are the same thing, rather than that she is a part of nature. It feels like she is outside of herself. She likes to experience this feeling, but claims that she knows the "sweet passion of one-ness" which is being aware that she feels one with nature, but is an individual part of it as well. The first feeling she has sounds "crazy" which is why she contrasts it to a more normal sensation of "one-ness". In this case, one-ness is being a part of nature, without literally experiencing what the plants in the forest do. Considering that, the phrase "sweet passion of one-ness" in this context, means to me something like "an enthusiasm for being a part of nature". It captures the idea that you can be one, and also part of a whole. Though, she is trying to communicate that she prefers to feel that she IS nature, she is aware that she is just a part, with her own place in it all. The moral of it, as I interpret it, is that human nature is to feel alone, or just one of millions of people, not an individual. Some people prefer one to another, and, in the narrator's case, she likes being lost in nature, in other words, being one of millions, not separate. Literally, however, she means it as being an indistinguishable force in nature, rather than a part of it. Considering this, I believe the best answer is:

C) "experiencing that your are part of nature, not separate"

3. The "miraculous pyramid of everything" is from the same poem, so remember what we just talked about. When she mentions this "pyramid" she first describes an ant, and how this ant is living her life to the fullest, and how wise it is to do so. Then the narrator says, "And I con tinued this up the miraculous pyramid of everything until I came to myself". What she means is that even an ant is a miracle, and a powerful part of nature, though it may seem small and insignificant. The "miraculous pyramid" is all of the levels of life which make up nature, from the lowest, smallest things, like ants, all the way up to plants, animals, and humans, whose actions are more noticeable. The pyramid, therefore, is a symbol for all of the living beings in nature, each being supporting another, each a unique miracle, part of the larger miracle that is nature. Note that reverence means "deep respect for something". Because of this, I believe the best answer is:

D) " a symbol suggesting reverence to all creatures, living and deceased"