A blog for those who are looking for silence, solitude and simplicity, and who sometimes want to be alone.
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 My musings on~ The Journey This is one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems. When I was working with teachers I used to read it to them in hopes of encouraging them to take a little time for themselves. I think of “The Journey” as a companion piece to Joseph Campbell’s urging that we “follow our bliss,” which I’ve quoted and discussed in my 1/27/11 blog. |
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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. Why I Wake Up Early
 6:51 A.M. Nov. 28, 2010
Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories, and into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety – best preacher that ever was, dear star, that just happens to where you are in the universe to keep us from ever-darkness, to ease us with warm touching, to hold us in the great hands of light – good morning, good morning, good morning. Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness. Mary Oliver .
I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, and three for society.
Henry David Thoreau |
My musings on~
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening If anyone from my high school class is reading this, you may recall that Mr. Collins, our tenth grade English teacher, had us memorize this poem. I'm sure that many of the rest of you were given a similar assignment sometime during your school career. The picture of the Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate goes with December, but it still is winter and I love the plates. |