You do not have to be good.
-- Speaker (Line 1)

Importance: The opening line of “Wild Geese” directly voices the speaker’s argument against perfectionism. It is significant that this quote opens the poem because it suggests that in order for the reader to feel connected, he or she must first let go of the need to be perfect. This kind of programming can be difficult to unlearn, and the speaker wastes no time in getting to the heart of the argument.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body / love what it loves.
-- Speaker (Lines 4-5)

Importance: These lines break from the pattern of repetition created in the first lines with the anaphora “you do not have to.” The speaker continues using a direct but gentle tone in this instruction to trust one’s body and let oneself be guided by love. The description of the human body as a “soft animal” aligns humans...