The idea that this poem is ongoing and lacking stanza breaks can implicitly illustrate the notion that life itself is ongoing without "breaks". The view that through good and bad (obstacles), we all must go on is represented in lines 10-12,

Oliver is explaining to the reader that although we will discover many hardships in life, we must move on and continue our personal journey as seen in line 12, "But you didn't stop".

The lack of stanza breaks also causes the reader to move more quickly through the poem. He/she is "pulled" through the poetry because many of the sentences are short and contain only three to four words. Another cause of "pulling" through the work is that many sentences are cut off and continued on the next line. Oliver is doing this to get an intense feeling across to

These lines tell us that the person on this quest to find his/herself, is up against something (the people around him/her) , as strong as a wind that could blow a house away. The wind uprooting or prying at the house is also related to the family being pried at and ruined. The family is the constant obstacle throughout the poem. They cause the speaker to be held back in completing his journey.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mary Oliver, Throughout Journey, Journey Oliver, Lisa Steinman, Oliver Life, Quarterly Review, life's journey, throughout poem, lines poem, seen lines, goal life's journey, didn't stop, save life, determined save, stiff fingers, journey oliver, stanza breaks,
Approximate Word count = 1256
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)