The Journey

with thanks to Mary Oliver always!

Today I finally know what
I need to do even as
the voices are calling to me
enjoy, bonne journe,
bendita peregrinacion
I do not know whether this
is a pilgrimage or merely a walk,
today I know in spite of or perhaps
because of all the voices calling out to me
that all of life is a pilgrimage
and this is mine.

My blessed life, my pilgrimage,
 nothing to mend, there will be stars,
there will be wind,  yes,
 there will probably be rain,  I will get
cold, and sore and grumpy and I
will have times of deep contemplation
and reflection and perhaps even
revelation and I will reflect on
my life on the Bay, in cool waters,
offering thanks for stiff and sore muscles
while walking in Spain.

The melancholy may be great and
the joy and the anticipation
as I notice this company I am keeping
as I walk deeper and deeper into
the woods, the mountains, on a path
that has been walked by sinners
and saints for centuries is
my own sinner saint pathway,
the voice I hear is a voice
familiar to me, the voice of
one life saved.

gkn May 2 2018