Dear Mary,

Your poems have been inspiration for me to walk the shores of Lake Superior and ask the maker of the stars questions about life in my post-divorce world. Why was I surprised to find you’ve written a poem that describes with piercing accuracy the moment that taught me to watch, listen and write so closely for an answer:

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.
---------------------------------
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.

God bless you, body and spirit, Mary, and thank you for the road map.

Jillena Rose