I Worried: Visual Poem


Role
Concept, Design, Animation
Collaborator: Jamie Kim and Tara Lam

Program
Illustrator, AfterEffects, Cinema 4D
Concept

Mary Oliver’s “I Worried” is a personal narrative about the universal human experience of overthinking and anxiety.

We interpreted the poem to be more positive, as Oliver seems to answer her own questions in the last stanza. We interpreted the line about “taking her old body…and singing” as freedom from her worries by choosing to focus on life, creation, and beauty. We depicted this full-circle ending through the flower garden. Initially, the poem asks if the garden will ever bloom, and in the end, it’s revealed this worry was unfounded, as it had deep, unyielding roots the entire time.

Music: Distant Horizon by We Dream of Eden





© Elaine Lee 2023