Poem: The Journey

Than­ks to hopeev­ey for the point­er to this poem.

The Jour­ney
by Mary Oliver 

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.

Cyn is Rick's wife, Katie's Mom, and Esther & Oliver's Mémé. She's also a professional geek, avid reader, fledgling coder, enthusiastic gamer (TTRPGs), occasional singer, and devoted stitcher.
Posts created 4259

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Posts

Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Back To Top