The Journey
1963
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
Mary Oliver
Born: 10 September 1935, Ohio, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 17 January 2019, Florida, USA
Oliver was a poet and winner of the Nation Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Inspired by nature her work stems from a lifelong passion for solitary walks in the wild and is characterized by the poet’s sincere wonderment at the impact of natural imagery
Jezzie G 