Friday, March 16, 2012

Need Simple Courage? Read this poem...


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 starts 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.

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By Mary Oliver

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photo found at daisy_nook_005_1024

3 comments:

Khurram Ali Shafique said...

I am very glad to see that you are back. Regards

Akhtar Wasim Dar said...

"and there was a new voice"
and this is what we discover, when we finally "see" and are able to distinguish, I am thrilled at the simplicity of expression which gives pleasing and easy ambiance to the poem.

CN said...

I am also very content now to "be back." -- especially to see that you are glad. :)

How helpful, also for the way you spell out what you like and notice in poetry -- Dar Sahib. This specificity and your love of simplicity helps me to do what I am best at noticing -- and do so better. :)