sara Etgen-Baker Poet Suzette Prime

Notes About The Poem

"Odyssean Homecoming" - image from googlepics.com

This poem reflects upon my own ten-year journey of losing and rebuilding my life, and how the phrase <em>never say never</em> shifted from a youthful certainty to a hard-earned truth. I drew on Odysseus’ return to Ithaca because his long struggle, his detours, and the obstacles he faced mirrored my own path through food addiction, self-doubt, and eventual homecoming. The allusions are meant to echo the ways we confront our monsters, navigate our storms, and reclaim the place we once feared we’d never reach.

poem submitted to "Never Say Never" poetry contest, Suzette Richards, sponsor, September 3, 2026

Never Say Never

I once said never, sure I’d outrun the weight that shaped my mother’s obese life;  
yet, like Mother, food was my Calypso, it held me close, sirens singing songs of self-loathing.  
at twenty-eight, I drifted far from home, three hundred pounds from who I’d been. 
I faced the mirror like Odysseus sighting Ithaca after years of uncertainty,
and I confronted ego, my one-eyed Cyclops, whose glare kept me from seeing my truth.  
the journey home meant leaving behind habits, islands where I’d lingered too long~  
never say never echoed like Odysseus’ vow to crewmen convinced they’d never return. 
I learned the body’s architecture can change when faith and courage steady life's helm again. 
for forty years I’ve lived within the home I reclaimed, its walls earned and steady.  
never say never means trusting the heart to navigate storms and still reach shore.

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Joseph P. DiMino September 3, 2026 at 10:14 AM "If not for the grace of God..." I never look down on anyone. Other than to offer a hand. Blessings my friend.

Alison A Smith nee Howarth September 3, 2026 at 5:50 AM A deeply moving and courageous poem, beautifully shaped as a personal odyssey. The free-verse form allows the reflections to unfold with honesty and emotional gravity, while the recurring “never say never” serves as a powerful anchor across the journey. The Odyssean imagery is especially effective: Calypso, the sirens, Cyclops, islands, Ithaca, and the helm transform a profoundly personal struggle into an epic homecoming. The closing image of a reclaimed home and a heart that can still “reach shore” feels hard-won, hopeful, and unforgettable.