The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Tue 12/18/2007)

[RetroLounge]

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.

Mary Oliver

***************************

:hi:

RL

[lizziegrace]

1. ...

"determined to save
the only life you could save"

:hug:


Is this where you find yourself now or hope to some day?

[RetroLounge]

5. Yes, both

You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.

Think bookstore, and my home life...

There with some of it, getting there with others.

:hi:

RL

[lizziegrace]

14. A little momentum

is all it takes.

:hug:

Still negotiating the location?

[RetroLounge]

16. negotiations begin if it is still available after new years

then we begin in earnest...

:D

RL

[lizziegrace]

19. Good deal

:)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. oh yes.

I see this journey as bravery. I know someone who defined this journey as desertion, and so they have stayed. Whether it is to mend their life or the ones who are tugging at their ankles, I will never know. I don't think they will either. I wonder: are they saved by the staying? I would have drowned had I stayed, this much I know.

thanks Mary Oliver for putting it in words. and Thanks Retro for posting it today.

[RetroLounge]

8. You're welcome

:hug:

RL

[Dora]

3. "Mend my life!" / each voice cried.

:)

[hisownpetard]

4. A hot cup of coffee and a good poem to read - what better way to start the day?

Thanks so much, you!
:thumbsup: :donut: :hug:

[RetroLounge]

15. Well, there's *one* better way

:hi:

RL

[hisownpetard]

18. Damn - don't remind me.

[Writer]

6. BRILLIANT.

~Writer~

[RetroLounge]

7. She is, isn't she?

:hi:

RL

[VenusRising]

9. Thank you for posting.

I needed to read that.

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

17. You are most welcome

:hi:

RL

[Guava Jelly]

10. Fuck that is deep...

I always wonder if a person in this situation is running away or just leaving.
Is there really a difference?

[graywarrior]

11. Awesome!

[RetroLounge]

20. As are you...

:hi:

RL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My dear Retro...

This is most excellent...

Plain spoken and yet poetic at the same time...

And it speaks to me!

Thank you, sweetie...:hug:

I'm grateful that you're posting again...

[Rising Phoenix]

13. love it

thanks for posting.... l bookmarked it! :hi: