Into My Own

ONE of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as ’twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
I should not be withheld but that some day	5
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
I do not see why I should e’er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track	10
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.
They would not find me changed from him they knew—
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost. There is a simple, soft elegance in the way he turns a phrase. I love the way he brings things back to nature while incorporating the message he's trying to get across. This has been, for a long time now, my favorite poem. It's the poem for my life. When I read it I think back on my twenty-six years and see where I've been and where God's taken me. I remember being the insecure girl in school. I remember finding my voice through writing and art, and translating my thoughts into something coherent. I recall the many stages of my life...the changing of scenery, friends, family, beliefs. My faith has grown solid and resonates with the third and fourth stanza. Friends, even family have seen this change in the past eight years, and wonder at it. Some feel as though they don't relate, or they want the old Kelly back. There is no turning back. This is the path that is before me and I'm "only more sure of all I thought was true". I don't know where God is going to take me in my life, but I know where he has taken others in the past that followed Him faithfully. There are no guarantees of comfort, safety, security or riches in this life. But those are not my concerns. Of course it is my hope that others "set forth upon my track", that they know the truth and love Him. This is my life's work, to love my Savior and follow him "unto the edge of doom."

Edmund Dulac, "Alone"