Thoreau, she tells me,
was tended to by women.
Meals and laundry —
a side of the story I’d missed,
hadn’t even thought to think about;
his cabin in the woods?
his solitude and simplicity?
my dream!
my escape!
my alternate ending!
and who considers practicalities
when we’re having
a transcendental crisis?
I am disheartened
and disappointed
and then…delighted!
The solitude of the woods?
The simplicity of sojourn?
And a community of women
to soothe and support?
Life Goals times one hundred!
P.S. There’s a Walden video game!
Poem ©2025 Jen Payne. Inspired, in part, by Hendry David Thoreau’s Walden. The title of the poem reflects the quote: “I learned this, at least, by my experiment : that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Photo from Literary America. NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Writing Month. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.
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