So many poems and books and films are about women finding their voices….

I’ve just reread for perhaps the 1000th time, Mary Oliver’s The Journey. I began reading this poem after my divorce in 2009 and especially after I moved back into my childhood house. Here, I live with my three dogs and the quiet is beautiful and velvety, especially in the morning.  I wake every day grateful for the space (inside myself and in my environment) to hear my own voice.  For so many years, I seemed to have perfected the ability to block the sound of my voice by focusing on everyone else’s. I printed Oliver’s poem in 2014 and since then it has hung on my fridge in the kitchen for me to reflect on most days.

This morning I reread and wrote the poem in my current journal (hard copy) so that I can re-feel the power off its words, of her words, reaching out to me.  Thank you to Mary Oliver as she resides in peace wherever she may be. 

“One day you finally knew/what you had to do, and began….”