April is Poetry Month: Day 1

The first poem of the month, dedicated to my friend Mary Beth Nelson, just because...

The Journey

By Mary Oliver

Lake Superior, Sept. 2016 by Jean Doolittle

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 that you could save.

    This poem is the first featured poem in ten poems to change your life, By Roger Housden, Harmony Books, 2001.  

    If you feel uncertain about poetry and whether or not there is space in your hectic life for spending time with carefully placed words in rhythmic order, this book may convince you that not only can you make space for poetry, but that you absolutely must, if you want to be fully human and alive.

    Perhaps this sounds like hyperbole.  It is not. 

    Housden himself is not a published poet but he has an uncanny understanding and love for the medium and for making poems accessible to others.  The dust jacket blurb is wonderful, beginning with one of my favorite sentences, ever.

    "This is a dangerous book.  Great poetry calls into question not less than everything.  It dares us to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind.  It opens us to pain and joy and delight.  It amazes, startles, pierces, and transforms us.  It can lead to communion and grace.

    Through the voices of ten inspiring poets and his own reflections, the author of Sacred America shows how poetry illuminates the eternal feelings and desires that stir the human heart and soul.  These poems explore such universal themes as the awakening of wonder, the longing for love, the wisdom of dreams, and the courage required to live an authentic life.  In thoughtful commentary on each work, Housden offers glimpses into his personal spiritual journey and invites readers to contemplate the significance of the poet's message in their own lives."