April may be considered the "cruellest month"by some (T.S. Eliot), but
it is also the month we celebrate poetry. So, to kick off the first day of National Poetry Month, here is one of my favorite poems. Enjoy!
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.
4 comments:
Nice choice to kick off the month; I've never read this poem before, but I think it's now one of my favorites. Thanks.
Lark, thanks! I found this poem in a copy of my O magazine and LOVED it. I just had to share it :)
Oh I love the idea of National Poetry Month! Thank you for sharing! I might have to post a poem myself. . . I have one in mind for sure!
Rebecca, definitely post a poem! I love idea of it too, because it really makes me stop and pay more attention to poetry than I normally do. Can't wait to read what poem you've chosen :)
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