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
by Mary Oliver
from Dream Work
Beacon Press 1992
"I hope whenever I get frustrated with my commitments, my family, the emotions and the ties that bind, the sheer struggle of sharing your life with other people, I remember how wonderful it is to be with Dave and Lily. How we are a unit, the three of us, working and playing and being together. It's a wonderful life."
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, Sasha, I ran smack dab into these thoughts and they stopped me cold with their relevance. It was like a wake up call -- thanks for the reminder.
By the way, I found these comments even though they are from two months ago because I was looking to see whether you wrote about Lily's schooling for next year. Something you said in your last post (about will she be less challenged? bored? will she meet kids from your neighborhood for playdates?) made me wonder whether she is NOT returning to Bement....? Say it isn't so!
Regards, Alison
p.s. Glad you liked the Mary Oliver poem, too!