Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine.

Let the wind turn in the trees, and the mystery hidden in the dirt (Oliver).

Thus, the differences between the two narrators can be seen clearly through these two stanzas. While Olds' narrator gives the impression of urgency, frustration, sadness, and overwhelming emotion, Oliver's narrator is calm, released, and accepting.

Thus, a comparison of Sharon Olds' "Little Summer Poem Touching The Subject Of Faith" and Mary Oliver's "The Daughter Goes To Camp" reveals that the poems have both similarities and difference. Both poems take place during summer, are narrated by a rather female voice, and discuss the subject of worry. Differences, however, suggest that the poems may, indeed, be antithesis of each other. While an urgent,...

Thus, while one poem ends with a less than satisfactory suggestion of worry and heartache, the other ends with a satisfying release of frustration and pain. When viewed in comparison, then, one can make the argument that Oliver's "The Daughter Goes To Camp" suggests that worry and pain are necessary and ubiquitous, while Olds' "Little Summer Poem Touching The Subject Of Faith," suggests worry is useless and faith is supreme.
Works Cited

Olds, Sharon. "The Daughter Goes To Camp." Poem Hunter. n.d. 17 April 2009.

Oliver, Mary. "Little Summer Poem Touching The Subject Of Faith." Plagiarist Poetry

Archive. 2 March 2002. 17 April 2009.