A poem by a fellow pilgrim...

This poem was found on the Camino de Santiago Forums, posted by William Garza.  I believe he is the one who wrote it, but I really don't know.  As I am inching closer to my own return (37 DAYS !!!!), it speaks of the call to go, and the rhythm of the walk.

Tell me again
Oh Pilgrim fair

Why I Must
Travel the Way?

Why Must i be drawn from afar, to some land..known to my heart
Unknown to my feet
Known to my soul
Yet have never breathed the air

Why..old Pilgrim there
Why does my heart beat in time
In between dreaming..and awake
To the footsteps
To the winds...whispers in my ears
To my footsteps
One by one
Until ime done
To a footstep in the night
That reminds me 
Ime not yet gone?

Tell me Pilgrim
Tell me of far off places
Close to your heart...
Of places close
That have no feel of home.

The long empty stretches
Bereft of steps
Silent but for the whispers to your soul.

The Wind talks to no one there
They're there..all for their own sake?

I think not.

Why must..I
I! Go.

Ultrea
Buen Camino
Que..te Vaya Bien

I have known Freedom
Because I have known cages
I have known Happiness
Because of Sorrow
I have known Life
Because I have seen too much.

Pilgrim
Your days are counted
Get busy Living or stay busy trying.
Surrounded by Infinite sorrow...
You Pilgrim
You Know Joy,

You have stepped out of Chrysalis
And into the winds
You will never be the same.

I know you
I know you by your eyes.

They have seen the light

I Remember now
The Call..is why.

Pilgrim on the Way
Dont worry why your there
Be..There...
Spend your Time
Do you understand?
Every moment important
Live fully within your time

Be Blessed on Your Way

While the planning is easier this time around, this Camino feels like a very different prospect than the last one.  In many ways, my last Camino was a search and a prayer for healing and wholeness after my divorce, and this time, there is a joy, a wonder that is inherent in the journey.  

Even in spite of the physical hurdles that I'm working to overcome, this pilgrimage is all about joy and thanksgiving, not mourning and healing.  Maybe that is why I'm going to be travelling in the height of summer, when the path and the vegetation will be at its peak of beauty.  Last time, I walked in the Autumn, when the harvest had been or was in the process of being brought in, and the land was beginning to prepare for winter--still mostly green, but a sign here and there of the winter to come.  I was able to harvest what I needed from that trip, and I am very thankful, but this trip....this trip is full of possibilities and promise.  

I don't know what the fruit will be, but I know that it will be exactly what I need.  

Ultreia!