The Journey
In honor of National Poetry Month – and in honor of my favorite poet, Mary Oliver.
And in honor of the path that I am on.
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.
I love Mary Oliver. This is one of my favorite poems of all time. Thanks for reminding me. I’m going to share this on my SMP Facebook page.
yes, it is a good one — almost hard to choose which I love the best of all the ones I love!
On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 6:25 AM, planetaurora
Absolutely great! I love it! Thanks for sharing!