The Journey By Mary Oliver

After reading The Journey twice, i understand what the author was talking about. From my point of view, Mary Oliver is talking about the journey everyone has to take in life. In that journey, everyone is going to face tough time in life. There are going to be people that give bad advise and criticize, and there are going to be people that are helpful. However, the poem says you don't need to listen anybody ,you must listen to your heart and obey your rules. During this time you can meet many difficulties but you must be patient and determined. Last four line of the poem was surprising to me in some way. "Determined to do the only thing you could do--determined to save the only life you could save." Eventually, a person realizes they can't save anyone in life other than him/herself. I think that author implying that the author was held back by other people to complete his Journey. Maybe that is why his sound little bit selfish at the end of the poem. I don't know if that is right or not but that is what i think of the poem. This poem is really good because it is straightforward to the point. This is definitely one of my favorite poems. Mainly, this poem is about survival and achieving your goals. Nice poem.