poems for seekers

[malingerer]

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!

I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

 

[JennyH94]

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!

I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

Beautiful poem malingerer - thank you for sharing it. Ailsa's thoughts are in great company with your poetry. It would be fantastic to read more of your poetry as you walk the VdlP so when you can, please post.
Cheers - Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Beautiful poem malingerer - thank you for sharing it. Ailsa's thoughts are in great company with your poetry. It would be fantastic to read more of your poetry as you walk the VdlP so when you can, please post.
Cheers - Jenny

herewith the next!

The swifts of High July
slice the sky with screams
sharing the air with souls
building strength to southward fly
calling me on

Part of me already waits
in a Spanish city
for my feet to join my self
whilst my guardian angel sings flamenco
Cante Jondo
to call me North
and begin again.

Enjoy!

the malingerer.

 

[JennyH94]

herewith the next!

The swifts of High July
slice the sky with screams
sharing the air with souls
building strength to southward fly
calling me on

Part of me already waits
in a Spanish city
for my feet to join my self
whilst my guardian angel sings flamenco
Cante Jondo
to call me North
and begin again.

Enjoy!

the malingerer.

Wow - malingerer! What a wonderful poem! Thank you!
Cheers - Jenny

 

[Oztrekker]

I watched a blind moth fly around,
koreans cooked some pungent food in the kitchen,
The moth flew around some more,
A pilgrim from italy opened a bottle of vino de tinto,
The moth flew out the door,
Found out they were not koreans actually they were japanese,

Went for a walk it was sunday,
Some trekers asked me where the supermacado was i accidently sent them 25 minutes in the wrong direction.

The end.

 

[malingerer]

Wow - malingerer! What a wonderful poem! Thank you!
Cheers - Jenny

herewith the next!hdqay
yep! its my birthday (77) and 8 weeks to go b4 seville!
Camino I use as coin
upon my soul-journeys

I ride the rim

Dangerous

I cannot see the faces
so when I fall
as fall I must
I do not know
how Fate
will call the day.

The Malingerer.


The swifts of High July
slice the sky with screams
sharing the air with souls
building strength to southward fly
calling me on

Part of me already waits
in a Spanish city
for my feet to join my self
whilst my guardian angel sings flamenco
Cante Jondo
to call me North
and begin again.

Enjoy!

the malingerer.

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!

I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

Wow - malingerer! What a wonderful poem! Thank you!
Cheers - Jenny

 

[JennyH94]

Happy birthday malingerer! I hope that you had a happy day. Your latest poem is fantastic, as are the others. What a wonderful camino you'll have - those ancient paths and huge skies giving you inspiration with your poetry ... so beautiful.
Cheers - Jenny

 

[malingerer]

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!
I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

Hola!
this one was written many years ago on a beach in Northern Ireland. It was a wild black night and quite in keeping with the times with a war on, trying to get a degree and obtaining a divorce all at the same time! I did NOT emerge unscathed and some wounds never heal. The reason for sharing it? Because it is one of the major reasons I have for loving Camino.I put one foot past the other and in between there are moments of peace.

And night came down
like a splintered rose
petals
of falling black
surrounding me in the blooms
of darkness
ere the light of moon
had risen
and I would that sleep
would steal so softly
without this frantic search
for keys
to close the day.

the malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

Hola!
this one was written many years ago on a beach in Northern Ireland. It was a wild black night and quite in keeping with the times with a war on, trying to get a degree and obtaining a divorce all at the same time! I did NOT emerge unscathed and some wounds never heal. The reason for sharing it? Because it is one of the major reasons I have for loving Camino.I put one foot past the other and in between there are moments of peace.

And night came down
like a splintered rose
petals
of falling black
surrounding me in the blooms
of darkness
ere the light of moon
had risen
and I would that sleep
would steal so softly
without this frantic search
for keys
to close the day.

the malingerer.

and now for something for august! five weeks today and i should be ensconced in my hostal!
a big hello to Jenny and hope u are having a great camino! if ever in England (the west country give me a message and will gladly put u up)
A PILGRIM BEGS
I heard a whisper in a quiet church
as I prayed for money to re-equip
and go slow a-camino
now i have a poorly hip
(and various other bits aint so hot either!!
"Love lies in your heart
and not in your boots"
it said to me
and I wondered

Should I give up backpack
take up slackpack
transport my luggage
take trains
and then i smiled
for if the rucksack be my cross
it is also my companion

It sings to me
and hugs my back
when my feet are weary
and the winds are high and stoney
lies the track

So boots and poles and sturdy sack
keep me upright when I lack love's glow
as faith grows dim
Each plays its part and does not war

So I lit another candle
and felt The Smile
for I shall go
A-Camino
and walk
another mile.

the malingerer

 

[malingerer]

and now for something for august! five weeks today and i should be ensconced in my hostal!
a big hello to Jenny and hope u are having a great camino! if ever in England (the west country give me a message and will gladly put u up)
A PILGRIM BEGS
I heard a whisper in a quiet church
as I prayed for money to re-equip
and go slow a-camino
now i have a poorly hip
(and various other bits aint so hot either!!
"Love lies in your heart
and not in your boots"
it said to me
and I wondered

Should I give up backpack
take up slackpack
transport my luggage
take trains
and then i smiled
for if the rucksack be my cross
it is also my companion

It sings to me
and hugs my back
when my feet are weary
and the winds are high and stoney
lies the track

So boots and poles and sturdy sack
keep me upright when I lack love's glow
as faith grows dim
Each plays its part and does not war

So I lit another candle
and felt The Smile
for I shall go
A-Camino
and walk
another mile.

the malingerer

FOUR weeks today and I should be in SEVILLA and yet?

POLARIS

Faith
is the gift
I have not yet received

I ask for Light
and am shown
the blue-black deeps
of night
excepting stars

One

is all

I need

My Guardian Angel
hears my plea
and shatters Dark
with a shooting star

It will find me
at the gates of dawn's
blue highways
walking softly
my feet following the memory
of that star-path
to the North.

the malingerer

 

[ricitosdeplata]

@malingerer, you'll be a few days ahead of me on vdlp.

 

[malingerer]

@malingerer, you'll be a few days ahead of me on vdlp.

original plan still holds i.e bus/tren to merida n then walkies as am counting previous trip from Malaga to Merida as my stage one of the Veedlepee as i now call it! However, there is a Flamenco festival on at this time n it could be a case of the plans of mice and men! u may well be aeons ahead! take care and buen camino!
the malingerer.

 

[ricitosdeplata]

Now I see that Septiembre es Flamenco festival is this year. I had been disappointed to find out that the biennial flamenco festival is not until next year. Thanks for the info.

 

[malingerer]

Now I see that Septiembre es Flamenco festival is this year. I had been disappointed to find out that the biennial flamenco festival is not until next year. Thanks for the info.

2 WEEKS TOMORROW and i should be on my way to Gatwick airport. flight isnt till 6.30 the following morn so thank God for the Ridgerest (mat)! I am starting to feel INTENSE now so:

LONGING

Silken the chains
that forever
bind me
wherever
whenever
Camino finds me
Sunset
Sunrise
Star shine
and Moon rise
calling me North
to land's end
and sea song
whispering gently:
"Here:
you belong."

Buen Camino

The Malingerer

 

[malingerer]

Gutted! After only a few days I couldnt take the pain in my left knee and had to come home. Emotionally on the floor at the moment until I start to rally and come up with yet another plan! Spain is my heart and so

SEEKING

I heard an old one of Ireland say
"where the heart lies
the feet wander"
and I wonder
what cruel humour
God was in
the day the clay
was baked of me
for I have wandered
far and near
carrying my emptiness
seeking the heart
that was meant for me
then slyly
withheld.

the malingerer.

as ever
buen camino
and thank you for reading my poetry
I can only hope it has been of some use.

 

[GettingThere]

Gutted! After only a few days I couldnt take the pain in my left knee and had to come home. Emotionally on the floor at the moment until I start to rally and come up with yet another plan! Spain is my heart and so

SEEKING

I heard an old one of Ireland say
"where the heart lies
the feet wander"
and I wonder
what cruel humour
God was in
the day the clay
was baked of me
for I have wandered
far and near
carrying my emptiness
seeking the heart
that was meant for me
then slyly
withheld.

the malingerer.

as ever
buen camino
and thank you for reading my poetry
I can only hope it has been of some use.

So sorry to hear your news, @malingerer - so disappointing for you after all the anticipation. I hope your knee settles and you're able to reschedule and try again soon, on this route or another. Keep writing the poetry!

 

[malingerer]

So sorry to hear your news, @malingerer - so disappointing for you after all the anticipation. I hope your knee settles and you're able to reschedule and try again soon, on this route or another. Keep writing the poetry!

thank you. i am swiveling between feeling a bloody fraud and ah what the hell im burning the boots! funny u mention another route as of course the cf has the infrastructure! i have to be sneaky and plan for the spring as my family will disown me! the poetry seems to pick its route irrespective of MY wishes anyway as i wrote this in the middle of the night holding a stone and thinking of FINISTERRE.

TALISMAN

the soul of an owl
in the stone
I found at ebb of tide
will take its place
with me
when next i go
a camino
from east to west
and into the sun
following that ancient path
I took those lives ago
and now returns
my heart
to home
in the western sea.

 

[malingerer]

THE LOST ONES
Whispers
in the mist
tugging at me
as I pass
upwards
onwards
to the col
shrouded in grey
begging my prayers and candles
at Santiago
for from this place
they cannot pass
until the lightning
strikes again
and spring
brings forth the flowers
they must follow
as snows do melt
to show
the yellow arrow.

buen camino
The Malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

THE LOST ONES
Whispers
in the mist
tugging at me
as I pass
upwards
onwards
to the col
shrouded in grey
begging my prayers and candles
at Santiago
for from this place
they cannot pass
until the lightning
strikes again
and spring
brings forth the flowers
they must follow
as snows do melt
to show
the yellow arrow.

buen camino
The Malingerer.

Leaves turn
winds burn
chilly the morning air
Beware!
The whisper comes
for this is autumn
autumn
the dying time
the time that bids the earth
go sleep
fore winter spreads his cloak of dark
to shield my heart
against the snows
of silence.

the malingerer.
Buen camino and stay safe.

 

[malingerer]

Thinking of all souls and those who have left us

HALLOWEEN

And I think of souls
and Death
reaping his way
along my Caminos
carefully choosing the Golden
The Flowered Ones
to place in his sack
to release
at Santiago
where they fly so high
to that place
that even he
can never reach.

the malingerer

buen camino and stay safe.

 

[malingerer]

its that time of the year again and as i walked down a high street and into a mall amidst the tinsel and the tat and the background canned music i saw a small boy firmly clutching his mother's hand and staring deeply at the big tree. Then I remembered:

when a child played in his father's workshop
and there amidst the shavings and discarded wood
he made a cross
only to look up
as his mother turned away
eyes bright with unshed tears
as the cosmos drifted a future
past his gaze
and the Christ-child
sits
so very
very
still.

And i wondered, if the child in me and you, really knows?

the malingerer.
walk soft and stay safe.

 

[JennyH94]

Your introduction takes me straight to that mall, to the mother with her small boy, and then back in time ... what a wonderful introduction to a beautiful, beautiful poem.
Thank you malingerer, and best, best wishes -
Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Your introduction takes me straight to that mall, to the mother with her small boy, and then back in time ... what a wonderful introduction to a beautiful, beautiful poem.
Thank you malingerer, and best, best wishes -
Jenny

hi and thanks!
and a merry xmas wherever u are
the malingerer

 

[David]

Ho, Malingerer - sorry to hear about your knee. I too have problems that can flare - a truly duff knee from a road accident when young, a couple of bones in my right foot once broken and not too happy when being flexed too much - pain, isn't it (pun intended).

JennyH told me of the "5 to 10" Camino concept. Instead of striding along trying to get a "day stage" in, day after day, - just pack superlight and amble along, five to ten kms a day - no rush ... then maybe, just maybe, the frail bits won't let you down - the Frances is perfect for that.

Buen Camino

 

[malingerer]

Ho, Malingerer - sorry to hear about your knee. I too have problems that can flare - a truly duff knee from a road accident when young, a couple of bones in my right foot once broken and not too happy when being flexed too much - pain, isn't it (pun intended).

JennyH told me of the "5 to 10" Camino concept. Instead of striding along trying to get a "day stage" in, day after day, - just pack superlight and amble along, five to ten kms a day - no rush ... then maybe, just maybe, the frail bits won't let you down - the Frances is perfect for that.

Buen Camino

Gracias amigo and i have done just that years ago! as u say the Frances is perfect for that but i have a stubborn heart and just want to be back on the veedlepee! HOWEVER, I am hoping to get accepted to do a stint at Miraz and maybe the grumpy one might see me doing noble deeds and give me a tiny miracle?
yours aye.
the malingerer

 

[JennyH94]

hi and thanks!
and a merry xmas wherever u are
the malingerer

Hi malingerer ... I had a word with Santa and asked him which tree it could have been. He checked through all his photos on the 's-cloud' (his own i-cloud where he stores all his Christmas photos) and he thought it was this tree ... is it?



Thanks again for your beautiful poetry this year - every word is a joy.

Best, best wishes to you and yours for a very happy Christmas.

Cheers - Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Hi malingerer ... I had a word with Santa and asked him which tree it could have been. He checked through all his photos on the 's-cloud' (his own i-cloud where he stores all his Christmas photos) and he thought it was this tree ... is it?

View attachment 22564

Thanks again for your beautiful poetry this year - every word is a joy.

Best, best wishes to you and yours for a very happy Christmas.

Cheers - Jenny

YEP! THATS THE ONE!

and NO im not the baldy git on the bench!!
G'day!

 

[JennyH94]

YEP! THATS THE ONE!

and NO im not the baldy git on the bench!!
G'day!

Ta-Dah!!! Santa thought it might have been!
Thank you Santa for the photo!
Cheers!

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

thank you. i am swiveling between feeling a bloody fraud and ah what the hell im burning the boots! funny u mention another route as of course the cf has the infrastructure! i have to be sneaky and plan for the spring as my family will disown me! the poetry seems to pick its route irrespective of MY wishes anyway as i wrote this in the middle of the night holding a stone and thinking of FINISTERRE.

TALISMAN

the soul of an owl
in the stone
I found at ebb of tide
will take its place
with me
when next i go
a camino
from east to west
and into the sun
following that ancient path
I took those lives ago
and now returns
my heart
to home
in the western sea.

You can always burn your boots at Finisterre (figuratively speaking!)

Thank you so much for your gift of poetry. It speaks to all us pilgrims injured along the Way and, as you, now travelling our Healing Caminos.

My pen is somewhat rusty but an offering of David Whyte from his book Pilgrim

FINISTERRE

The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken,
into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you
as you stood where ground turned to ocean: no way
to your future now but the way your shadow could take,
walking before you across water, going where shadows go,
no way to make sense of a world that wouldn't let you pass
except to call an end to the way you had come,
to take out each frayed letter you brought
and light their illumined corners, and to read
them as they drifted through the western light;
to empty your bags; to sort this and to leave that;
to promise what you needed to promise all along,
and to abandon the shoes that had brought you here
right at the water's edge, not because you had given up
but because now, you would find a different way to tread,
and because, through it all, part of you could still walk on,
no matter how, over the waves.

 

[malingerer]

You can always burn your boots at Finisterre (figuratively speaking!)

Thank you so much for your gift of poetry. It speaks to all us pilgrims injured along the Way and, as you, now travelling our Healing Caminos.

My pen is somewhat rusty but an offering of David Whyte from his book Pilgrim


FINISTERRE

The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken,
into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you
as you stood where ground turned to ocean: no way
to your future now but the way your shadow could take,
walking before you across water, going where shadows go,
no way to make sense of a world that wouldn't let you pass
except to call an end to the way you had come,
to take out each frayed letter you brought
and light their illumined corners, and to read
them as they drifted through the western light;
to empty your bags; to sort this and to leave that;
to promise what you needed to promise all along,
and to abandon the shoes that had brought you here
right at the water's edge, not because you had given up
but because now, you would find a different way to tread,
and because, through it all, part of you could still walk on,
no matter how, over the waves.

thank you. thats a wonderful way of putting it! funny, i have been accepted as a volunteer for Miraz next year and am hoping if i can get my act together,i will bus it back to santiago and see if i can walk it down to Finisterre and have a word with my ancestors. it would make a brilliant end to my walking days.

yours aye,
the malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

thank you. thats a wonderful way of putting it! funny, i have been accepted as a volunteer for Miraz next year and am hoping if i can get my act together,i will bus it back to santiago and see if i can walk it down to Finisterre and have a word with my ancestors. it would make a brilliant end to my walking days.

yours aye
the malingerer.

DECEMBER and the weary wait for the solstice when the year begins again and dreams awake

Should I burn my boots
will I walk again
is it time to die?
And I wonder
as I stand
and gaze
like my ancestors
Celts
over the ocean
who likewise wondered
about the soul-path to the sun

Warrior-poets that they were
they dared to cross
and did not return
but left me a message
on the timeline
and a whisper on the wind
writing on the sands
at flow of tide.

the Malingerer.
happy Yule.

 

[JennyH94]

Absolutely beautiful malingerer.
Best, best wishes for a happy yule and for 2016 - may it bring everything you hope and wish for.
Cheers from the Great Southern Land -
Jenny

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

A heartfelt and winsome Christmas gift.
Thank you malingerer, warrior-poet.

Warmest best wishes also from the Great Southern Land. As you look towards Longest Night, we live through our Longest Day... dream on!

 

[malingerer]

A heartfelt and winsome Christmas gift.
Thank you malingerer, warrior-poet.

Warmest best wishes also from the Great Southern Land. As you look towards Longest Night, we live through our Longest Day... dream on!

A big thank you and heart felt good wishes for Christmas. Buen camino for whenever and wherever you go a camino!
the malingerer

 

[malingerer]

A big thank you and heart felt good wishes for Christmas. Buen camino for whenever and wherever you go a camino!
the malingerer

Soon it will be the birth-day and so
NEWBORN

Young
she was
and tired
exhausted
bloody
but a glow of wonder
lit her face
as eyes bright with joy
deep she gazed
on this
her newborn
first born
and I wonder
wonder
wonder
if the Christ-child
and his mother
felt like this
ere prescience
spread his wings......

the malingerer

still wondering.

 

[JennyH94]

Soon it will be the birth-day and so
NEWBORN

Young
she was
and tired
exhausted
bloody
but a glow of wonder
lit her face
as eyes bright with joy
deep she gazed
on this
her newborn
first born
and I wonder
wonder
wonder
if the Christ-child
and his mother
felt like this
ere prescience
spread his wings......

the malingerer

still wondering.

So, so beautiful malingerer - this poem is a wonderful Christmas gift for us all.
Thank you -
Jenny

 

[malingerer]

So, so beautiful malingerer - this poem is a wonderful Christmas gift for us all.
Thank you -
Jenny

SOLSTICE

Last dawn of old
wet
windy
wild and cold
like a child
in pre-awakening
needing changing
feeding
like I
need the sun
Spanish wine
and the road
going on
before me.

the malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

SOLSTICE

Last dawn of old
wet
windy
wild and cold
like a child
in pre-awakening
needing changing
feeding
like I
need the sun
Spanish wine
and the road
going on
before me.

the malingerer.

I know this one really belongs to the CF but as i dont know when i will ever get back there perhaps those of u "making the switch" back to it perhaps u will say one for me when u are up there?

VIERGE D'ORISSON

Soul wrapped in silence
residing in stone
guarding that high place
sheep pasture
passing pilgrims

It can be bleak there
dreich
sighing winds
clouds and mist
stealing the light
swirling snows
robbing the senses

I kneel when I pass
to ask for guidance
and the road

I give in exchange
some of my warmth
that you might store
to share with the lost ones
in time of need

I do not say goodbye
that high pass
will always call
and deep within
when my lifetimes end
I hope I may
pass by once more
to feel that smile
from Mother to child
Evermore
Evermore.

Thank you. Buen Camino and stay safe.

The Malingerer

 

[Albertagirl]

Thank you, Malingerer,
Your wonderful poems remind me of my younger days when I lived intensely and used to write poetry to let the pressure out. Perhaps I may come to write some again, inspired by the camino and those who find words to share their insights.

 

[JennyH94]

Beautiful poem malingerer - first one to be shared on the Forum for 2016 - thank you. May 2016 bring you all wonderful things - especially for your time at Miraz.
Cheers - Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Beautiful poem malingerer - first one to be shared on the Forum for 2016 - thank you. May 2016 bring you all wonderful things - especially for your time at Miraz.
Cheers - Jenny

They say it is spring and yes the robin who dominates my feeder flies to a high tree to sing his heart out for a mate, and I? I wait, because...
Footprints in the sands of time
go forward with the wind
like the river of my past
racing towards a future
each one holds a grain
of all the places I have been
and are trodden into the fabric
of my mind
like this old carpet
in my flat
where I pace
when weather-bound with life
and cannot go
a-camino

But hey, my flight to Madrid is booked for may 9th, and after that, who knows?

the malingerer

 

[JennyH94]

Hi malingerer -

Another absolute cracker of a poem! Thank you!

Less than two months until you leave for Madrid - lucky you! If you're planning a couple of days in Madrid before you start walking, there's a fantastic exhibition at the Prado that you might want to see - the Hieronymous Bosch exhibition. He was a Dutch painter from the 16th century (I think) who painted the most wild paintings - he was centuries ahead of his time. I'll be seeing it at the end of July when I'm in Madrid.

I hope that you've been able to sort out your health problems and that you're enjoying some brisk walks in the crisp air - save the leisurely walks for Spain! Be at Peace with your Pace!

Cheers and thanks again -

Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Hi malingerer -

Another absolute cracker of a poem! Thank you!

Less than two months until you leave for Madrid - lucky you! If you're planning a couple of days in Madrid before you start walking, there's a fantastic exhibition at the Prado that you might want to see - the Hieronymous Bosch exhibition. He was a Dutch painter from the 16th century (I think) who painted the most wild paintings - he was centuries ahead of his time. I'll be seeing it at the end of July when I'm in Madrid.

I hope that you've been able to sort out your health problems and that you're enjoying some brisk walks in the crisp air - save the leisurely walks for Spain! Be at Peace with your Pace!

Cheers and thanks again -

Jenny

been to hosp up in clevedon who say the two things wrong are age and arthritis both of which cant b cured! who cares sez me and am now praying for pennies to swell the coffers for next trip! can afford zamorra to Astorga which means i could say i have done the veedlepee but my heart wants to go Caceres to Salamanca and leave the finish till another day. like that comment of yours about peace with the pace. as for crisp walks in the crisp air its bloody freezing and the gusts can take u off ya feet. Mind u it does give rise to mirth amongst the heathen here when elderly are seen hurtling down the road in hot pursuit of their headgear! Sheesh! as 4 madrid it'll be in late, up early and off 2 Caceres, God willing of course!
Buen camino and stay safe.
The malingerer aka Sean, Josiah etc!

 

[JennyH94]

been to hosp up in clevedon who say the two things wrong are age and arthritis both of which cant b cured! who cares sez me and am now praying for pennies to swell the coffers for next trip! can afford zamorra to Astorga which means i could say i have done the veedlepee but my heart wants to go Caceres to Salamanca and leave the finish till another day. like that comment of yours about peace with the pace. as for crisp walks in the crisp air its bloody freezing and the gusts can take u off ya feet. Mind u it does give rise to mirth amongst the heathen here when elderly are seen hurtling down the road in hot pursuit of their headgear! Sheesh! as 4 madrid it'll be in late, up early and off 2 Caceres, God willing of course!
Buen camino and stay safe.
The malingerer aka Sean, Josiah etc!

Hi Sean - 'sorry to hear the news wasn't better from the medicos - it's great that you're not letting it stop you from walking the VDLP ... speaking of which, follow your heart and go Caceres to Salamanca ... if that is what draws you then that's where you should be. I think you're already half way there as you're planning Caceres as your start.
Hey - maybe your walking poles could stop a flying hat! Good luck with the fund-raising!
Be at Peace with your Pace and take joy in EVERY step -
Cheers -
Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Hi Sean - 'sorry to hear the news wasn't better from the medicos - it's great that you're not letting it stop you from walking the VDLP ... speaking of which, follow your heart and go Caceres to Salamanca ... if that is what draws you then that's where you should be. I think you're already half way there as you're planning Caceres as your start.
Hey - maybe your walking poles could stop a flying hat! Good luck with the fund-raising!
Be at Peace with your Pace and take joy in EVERY step -
Cheers -
Jenny

BRUSSELS

Death becomes a television show

sandwiched between soap and sport

I hear the screams

but cannot smell the blood

until my mind reminds me

of Derry

Belfast

and English politicians talking

of

"an acceptable level of violence"

I do not think

that then as now

the dying and the maimed

would quite agree

as murderers cry out

"God is great"

before unleashing Hell

So I dim the lights

and candles seven light

along with incense

to reassure my senses

lest I too buckle under pain

and cry

"My God

My god

why hast thou

forsaken me?"

Stay safe out there, peregrinos, but keep on walking.

Yours in anguish,

The Malingerer.

 

[JennyH94]

BRUSSELS

Death becomes a television show

sandwiched between soap and sport

I hear the screams

but cannot smell the blood

until my mind reminds me

of Derry

Belfast

and English politicians talking

of

"an acceptable level of violence"

I do not think

that then as now

the dying and the maimed

would quite agree

as murderers cry out

"God is great"

before unleashing Hell

So I dim the lights

and candles seven light

along with incense

to reassure my senses

lest I too buckle under pain

and cry

"My God

My god

why hast thou

forsaken me?"

Stay safe out there, peregrinos, but keep on walking.

Yours in anguish,

The Malingerer.

Dear Sean - what an exceptionally beautiful and profound poem this is. Thank you so much for it.

You're so right, all we can do is keep on walking.

Yours, in friendship -

Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Dear Sean - what an exceptionally beautiful and profound poem this is. Thank you so much for it.

You're so right, all we can do is keep on walking.

Yours, in friendship -

Jenny

It is "the marching season" as we say in Ulster and the "walking season" for Caminos. It is also the anniversary of Denise leaving us. There are many wounds. And so.......

I walk the wounds
across the fields
of broken glass
the debris of our yesterdays
and the bloody footprints
of tomorrow
on a kaleidoscope of times

I light my candles
in a church
as reflection of the beacons
I have lit across the wastes
of spaces deep
between the stars of this
and parallels of universe
I cannot name

I kneel in places
high and old
far from the glare of empty ritual
then keep on walking
towards a truth
towards the light
and as I westwards walk
the earth beneath my feet rolls east

We pass each other by
and smile
for bond I have with the planet blue
foster mother
to the inner child
who gave me The Way
to walk the wounds
and slowly
heal.

Buen camino, stay safe, and if you cannot walk, journey on.

Peace,

The Malingerer

 

[JennyH94]

It is "the marching season" as we say in Ulster and the "walking season" for Caminos. It is also the anniversary of Denise leaving us. There are many wounds. And so.......

I walk the wounds
across the fields
of broken glass
the debris of our yesterdays
and the bloody footprints
of tomorrow
on a kaleidoscope of times

I light my candles
in a church
as reflection of the beacons
I have lit across the wastes
of spaces deep
between the stars of this
and parallels of universe
I cannot name

I kneel in places
high and old
far from the glare of empty ritual
then keep on walking
towards a truth
towards the light
and as I westwards walk
the earth beneath my feet rolls east

We pass each other by
and smile
for bond I have with the planet blue
foster mother
to the inner child
who gave me The Way
to walk the wounds
and slowly
heal.

Buen camino, stay safe, and if you cannot walk, journey on.

Peace,

The Malingerer

Thank you for this beautiful poem Malingerer - your poems do make me look deeper. One month and you'll be in Madrid, ready to start the VDLP! I hope the wide open spaces, the wind and the road will bring you joy each day.
Cheers - Jenny

 

[Alison Chandler]

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!

I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

 

[Alison Chandler]

So looking forward to hearing more of your poetry on the Way. Here is one of mine for companionship. I love "I am a long way from who I am".
FIELD OF STARS

I have been up so high and down so steep through the Field of Stars.

Sparkling golden mornings to dreamy purple nights

spent with strangers seeking something shared

On the road to Compostela.

A river of prayer, deep dreaming souls like leaves slide in cold currents,

Dropped from different trees,

Race careering by in common cause

Meet in miracle pools of moonlight melted stone.

Offer never ending temptation to step back out into the golden morning,

onto the Good Way.

Hounds from hell own the valleys where black cock compasses call us.

Huge wolf guards strain chained by brown cow’s barns

Demon dogs wait at crossroads to catch the confused or

slip sleekly by against silent footstep traffic flow, one-way.

Fear of their fangs kept me from Camino

But strangers and little arrows saw me safe on the road

And the red fox snuck away amongst the bracken

And, mother now, I am, like him, stronger than my nightmares

and home

while the hounds fade shadowless into the impenetrable gloom of Galician forest.

As evening falls upon my childish fairytales their packs can slide back behind me.

The rest though, the real yellow road,

the kisses on the back of my hand, like needle pricks, chestnut cases;

the velvet songs of sadness and love, the golden mists and plump pumpkin patches,

shining flagstones and clouds of incense,

the half-remembered poems, gleaming emerald streams, warmth of chocolate-pool eyes,

the flutes and accordions and bagpipes

can't I capture these, not let them go?

Can’t I with this page, net them in words, here by the grey Presbyterian sea

click save and have them here, deep, hot, for ever?

 

[malingerer]

So looking forward to hearing more of your poetry on the Way. Here is one of mine for companionship. I love "I am a long way from who I am".
FIELD OF STARS

I have been up so high and down so steep through the Field of Stars.

Sparkling golden mornings to dreamy purple nights

spent with strangers seeking something shared

On the road to Compostela.

A river of prayer, deep dreaming souls like leaves slide in cold currents,

Dropped from different trees,

Race careering by in common cause

Meet in miracle pools of moonlight melted stone.

Offer never ending temptation to step back out into the golden morning,

onto the Good Way.

Hounds from hell own the valleys where black cock compasses call us.

Huge wolf guards strain chained by brown cow’s barns

Demon dogs wait at crossroads to catch the confused or

slip sleekly by against silent footstep traffic flow, one-way.

Fear of their fangs kept me from Camino

But strangers and little arrows saw me safe on the road

And the red fox snuck away amongst the bracken

And, mother now, I am, like him, stronger than my nightmares

and home

while the hounds fade shadowless into the impenetrable gloom of Galician forest.

As evening falls upon my childish fairytales their packs can slide back behind me.

The rest though, the real yellow road,

the kisses on the back of my hand, like needle pricks, chestnut cases;

the velvet songs of sadness and love, the golden mists and plump pumpkin patches,

shining flagstones and clouds of incense,

the half-remembered poems, gleaming emerald streams, warmth of chocolate-pool eyes,

the flutes and accordions and bagpipes

can't I capture these, not let them go?

Can’t I with this page, net them in words, here by the grey Presbyterian sea

click save and have them here, deep, hot, for ever?

What a beautiful piece of work! Thank you for sharing and keep on truckin! Funny tho, a long way from whom I am always makes me sigh a little as I too truck on. Is there ever an ending or just way stations on the circle? Does it matter?
Yours in profundity!

the malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

Thank you for this beautiful poem Malingerer - your poems do make me look deeper. One month and you'll be in Madrid, ready to start the VDLP! I hope the wide open spaces, the wind and the road will bring you joy each day.
Cheers - Jenny

Four weeks Monday and my emotions have me strung out already! Not bothering much with road training as this time I will walk short bits and bus long bits until the stride comes back! Bought new undies and Tevas this morning and checking the first aid. Buying knee support and a kilo of Voltarol as well. Determined to get to Astorga by fair means or foul and then its home with the vdlp under my belt or maybe a sneaky addition over the Cruz de Ferro to Ponferrada. I like to stand in the Templar castle and indulge in some mild meglomania!
as ever, thank you for your support n take care.
Love n peace etc!



The malingerer aka sean etc.

 

[JennyH94]

So looking forward to hearing more of your poetry on the Way. Here is one of mine for companionship. I love "I am a long way from who I am".
FIELD OF STARS

I have been up so high and down so steep through the Field of Stars.

Sparkling golden mornings to dreamy purple nights

spent with strangers seeking something shared

On the road to Compostela.

A river of prayer, deep dreaming souls like leaves slide in cold currents,

Dropped from different trees,

Race careering by in common cause

Meet in miracle pools of moonlight melted stone.

Offer never ending temptation to step back out into the golden morning,

onto the Good Way.

Hounds from hell own the valleys where black cock compasses call us.

Huge wolf guards strain chained by brown cow’s barns

Demon dogs wait at crossroads to catch the confused or

slip sleekly by against silent footstep traffic flow, one-way.

Fear of their fangs kept me from Camino

But strangers and little arrows saw me safe on the road

And the red fox snuck away amongst the bracken

And, mother now, I am, like him, stronger than my nightmares

and home

while the hounds fade shadowless into the impenetrable gloom of Galician forest.

As evening falls upon my childish fairytales their packs can slide back behind me.

The rest though, the real yellow road,

the kisses on the back of my hand, like needle pricks, chestnut cases;

the velvet songs of sadness and love, the golden mists and plump pumpkin patches,

shining flagstones and clouds of incense,

the half-remembered poems, gleaming emerald streams, warmth of chocolate-pool eyes,

the flutes and accordions and bagpipes

can't I capture these, not let them go?

Can’t I with this page, net them in words, here by the grey Presbyterian sea

click save and have them here, deep, hot, for ever?

Hi Alison - Welcome to the Forum! I second Sean's thoughts ... what a wonderful poem this is. Thank you.

Best wishes - Jenny

 

[JennyH94]

Four weeks Monday and my emotions have me strung out already! Not bothering much with road training as this time I will walk short bits and bus long bits until the stride comes back! Bought new undies and Tevas this morning and checking the first aid. Buying knee support and a kilo of Voltarol as well. Determined to get to Astorga by fair means or foul and then its home with the vdlp under my belt or maybe a sneaky addition over the Cruz de Ferro to Ponferrada. I like to stand in the Templar castle and indulge in some mild meglomania!
as ever, thank you for your support n take care.
Love n peace etc!



The malingerer aka sean etc.

Sounds like great preparations Sean - particularly those Tevas! Fantastic sandals! Good to hear that you've got the first aid kit happening too and your 'insurance policy' for the knee (ie the support and the Voltarol).
I hope that you get to Astorga and that time will allow you to stop in at Refugio Gaucelmo at Rabanal before you head up to the Cruz and then on to Ponferrada. The Templar castle there is incredible, isn't it? Standing on those ramparts ... wow!
Love n peace to you too Sean!
Cheers - Jenny

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Four weeks Monday and my emotions have me strung out already! Not bothering much with road training as this time I will walk short bits and bus long bits until the stride comes back! Bought new undies and Tevas this morning and checking the first aid. Buying knee support and a kilo of Voltarol as well. Determined to get to Astorga by fair means or foul and then its home with the vdlp under my belt or maybe a sneaky addition over the Cruz de Ferro to Ponferrada. I like to stand in the Templar castle and indulge in some mild meglomania!
as ever, thank you for your support n take care.
Love n peace etc!



The malingerer aka sean etc.

New undies - now you're set.

Ah... the pre walk emotions... they're quite a mix. Take care of your body on the Way. You'll soon find your stride!

For some reason the old Kris Kristofferson lyrics just popped into the conversation - The Pilgrim: Chapter 33

But if this world keeps right on turnin', for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older and around
From the rockin' of the cradle, to the rollin' of the hearse
The goin' up was worth, the comin' down

He's a poet, an' he's a picker, he's a prophet, an' he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

Have a fabulous Camino

 

[malingerer]

New undies - now you're set.

Ah... the pre walk emotions... they're quite a mix. Take care of your body on the Way. You'll soon find your stride!

For some reason the old Kris Kristofferson lyrics just popped into the conversation - The Pilgrim: Chapter 33

But if this world keeps right on turnin', for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older and around
From the rockin' of the cradle, to the rollin' of the hearse
The goin' up was worth, the comin' down

He's a poet, an' he's a picker, he's a prophet, an' he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

Have a fabulous Camino

Now THIS is a reply and a half. Reminds me of my hippy days when we really did think it was gonna get better. Seems at times like its got worse but then ya caint see stars in daylight!
love n peace n thank you.



the malingerer

 

[JennyH94]

New undies - now you're set.

Ah... the pre walk emotions... they're quite a mix. Take care of your body on the Way. You'll soon find your stride!

For some reason the old Kris Kristofferson lyrics just popped into the conversation - The Pilgrim: Chapter 33

But if this world keeps right on turnin', for the better or the worse
And all he ever gets is older and around
From the rockin' of the cradle, to the rollin' of the hearse
The goin' up was worth, the comin' down

He's a poet, an' he's a picker, he's a prophet, an' he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

Have a fabulous Camino

Fantastic reply Meri! Thanks for the lyrics - I really like the second and last lines of the first verse - says a lot about life itself doesn't it? (Seriously, I always think the goin' up is worth the comin' down).
Cheers - Jenny

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Fantastic reply Meri! Thanks for the lyrics - I really like the second and last lines of the first verse - says a lot about life itself doesn't it? (Seriously, I always think the goin' up is worth the comin' down).
Cheers - Jenny

I agree. My Buddhists teachers always tried to get me to the stage where the going up and coming down curves flattened so that it was all fairly even... but where's the fun in that?

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Now THIS is a reply and a half. Reminds me of my hippy days when we really did think it was gonna get better. Seems at times like its got worse but then ya caint see stars in daylight!
love n peace n thank you.



the malingerer

Aaahhh... our hippy days... love, light, peace and the doomsday clock... it was always going to get better but I think that was us, in the end. The only thing that we realised that we could change or influence about the World was ourselves. Hard lesson.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Now THIS is a reply and a half. Reminds me of my hippy days when we really did think it was gonna get better. Seems at times like its got worse but then ya caint see stars in daylight!
love n peace n thank you.



the malingerer

I should have added the last line of that song:
There's a lot of wrong directions, on that lonely way back home

Describes us journeymen/travellers well...

 

[JennyH94]

I should have added the last line of that song:
There's a lot of wrong directions, on that lonely way back home

Describes us journeymen/travellers well...

'Love your post Meri! So true!
Cheers - Jenny

 

[newgabe]

I've enjoyed skimming the poems here and will settle down and read them properly one quiet night
Meanwhile I hope you don't mind me sharing here a Kabir poem I came across today.

I Said to the Wanting Creature
by Kabir, trans. Robert Bly

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.

 

[malingerer]

I've enjoyed skimming the poems here and will settle down and read them properly one quiet night
Meanwhile I hope you don't mind me sharing here a Kabir poem I came across today.

I Said to the Wanting Creature
by Kabir, trans. Robert Bly

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.

Hi and thanks for the post which was quite coincidental! I was having my first coffee of the day when I received the missive! Like the way you dip into the poetry and was quite taken with Kabir BUT the word imagination comes from image which comes from Magi who were magicians meaning they had knowledge because they were calendar makers! And THAT was power! Not to be confused with card tricks and parlour games!
I'm off to Madrid on May 9th and then up to Burgos and heading for the Meseta. I'm hoping to fool myself and the dreaded arthritis by slowly putting some sneaky miles into my legs and if I can get to Astorga I'll simply catch a bus down to Zamora and then turn around and head North again! I have to finish the Veedlepee with SOME sense of honour! Will probably write some Musings for the Meseta before finishing poetry for the VDLP AND HEADING HOME!!! Its been a long haul. Many thanks once again and Buen Camino.
Yours aye,

Malingerer.

 

[malingerer]

Hi and thanks for the post which was quite coincidental! I was having my first coffee of the day when I received the missive! Like the way you dip into the poetry and was quite taken with Kabir BUT the word imagination comes from image which comes from Magi who were magicians meaning they had knowledge because they were calendar makers! And THAT was power! Not to be confused with card tricks and parlour games!
I'm off to Madrid on May 9th and then up to Burgos and heading for the Meseta. I'm hoping to fool myself and the dreaded arthritis by slowly putting some sneaky miles into my legs and if I can get to Astorga I'll simply catch a bus down to Zamora and then turn around and head North again! I have to finish the Veedlepee with SOME sense of honour! Will probably write some Musings for the Meseta before finishing poetry for the VDLP AND HEADING HOME!!! Its been a long haul. Many thanks once again and Buen Camino.
Yours aye,

Malingerer.

Some years ago up on the Cf I came across a carefully laid out spiral of stones. Making sure no one was watching I danced along them. For some reason that came back to me this evening and so

CIRCLES

I had thought to hunt the road as if she was a hare
with the gun of my soul
But I am Celt
olden
and she is sacred to me now
so I wait
and she
comes to me
on her long long legs
and says
I have been waiting for you
so I put down my gun
and laced up my boots
donned my rucksack
took up my walking poles
and followed her
on that great high circle
that leads me back
to who I am.

The malingerer

Buen camino and hi there Jenny

This time next week i should be holed up in Burgos.! The long range forecast says some rain and thunderstorms ahead! Sheesh! Pacer poles are carbon and thinks, dont that attract lightning? ah well needs must!

Ps A hare runs in great circles which is where the idea comes in!

 

[malingerer]

Some years ago up on the Cf I came across a carefully laid out spiral of stones. Making sure no one was watching I danced along them. For some reason that came back to me this evening and so

CIRCLES

I had thought to hunt the road as if she was a hare
with the gun of my soul
But I am Celt
olden
and she is sacred to me now
so I wait
and she
comes to me
on her long long legs
and says
I have been waiting for you
so I put down my gun
and laced up my boots
donned my rucksack
took up my walking poles
and followed her
on that great high circle
that leads me back
to who I am.

The malingerer

Buen camino and hi there Jenny

This time next week i should be holed up in Burgos.! The long range forecast says some rain and thunderstorms ahead! Sheesh! Pacer poles are carbon and thinks, dont that attract lightning? ah well needs must!

Ps A hare runs in great circles which is where the idea comes in!

Hola!

I caught the bus from Burgos to Astorga and then walkies to Ponferrada and home again with another twist in the spine but i'm past caring and am booked back to Ponferrada for 25 July and aiming to finish the cf again! Will get back to the veedlepee one day,but in the meantime

RAIDO

The Rune of The Traveller
follower of The Way
whose number is five.
It contains Isa
whose number is eleven
rune of ice
stillness
but also the centre
where we halt
pause
reflect
gather the strands of self together
and begin to move
with new understanding
and become one
with Ljaguz
rune of ebb and flow
searching for the sea
and find Wunjo
to fly the banner once again
with Raido
and The Robe
as if enfolds me
whilst I listen for
the voice in the wind
inherent in the all
Ansuz
the god-rune
poetry
and The Way
for I
have sang the runes to birth
on the stones
of the Western Road.

The Malingerer

 

[David]

I've enjoyed skimming the poems here and will settle down and read them properly one quiet night
Meanwhile I hope you don't mind me sharing here a Kabir poem I came across today.

I Said to the Wanting Creature
by Kabir, trans. Robert Bly

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.

How did I let this marvellous thread get away from me???

"I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are."

Came from NewGabe - Exactly!!!!
Our lives - we are like children in a room full of mirrors .. concentrate, be still, or that moment you had, that moment on that hill, or when the hawk flew over, or the kitten came for food and a cuddle, or those old men/women you saw, and pondered, that moment that took you out of all this so that you were immersed in all this, but were still, mind silent, and, for one moment, still, mindless, but Awake, awake!, that moment - it is gone! Or, look! another mirror!

I like this poem. I like this poem very much! Surely he/she must be a Sufi, or Sikh, or Hindu?

I like it very much, reminds me of the many enlightenment words and poems.

On Camino .. you have this chance, this one chance in your life, away from that other world, if you would only switch all the gadgets off, be where you are, day by day, moment by moment. There is no path, there is no thing to learn, there is no constant improvement, there is no 'getting better', there is no 'getting wiser', there is no meditation or yoga to work at, there is no progression - there is only waking up to what you are and have always been -
- there is only this - and there has only ever been only this ...
So ...

"In that tiniest timeless fragment of eternity
When, for just one eternal moment, the games ended
and reality began
I remembered"

Buen Camino!

 

[mspath]

"...But to have been,
This once, completely, even if only once:
To have been at one with the earth, seems beyond undoing."

Rainer Maria Rilke,
9th Duino Elegy

 

[lettinggo]

Did you write this david?

"In that tiniest timeless fragment of eternity
When, for just one eternal moment, the games ended
and reality began
I remembered"

 

[JennyH94]

Another absolute cracker of a poem malingerer! Thank you. There's much food for thought in it and what a gift to Forum members it is.

Not long until you're once again on The Way ... may the ancient spirits of the path be with you as you walk joyfully towards Santiago.

Cheers and best wishes to you -

Jenny

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

How did I let this marvellous thread get away from me???

"I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are."

Came from NewGabe - Exactly!!!!
Our lives - we are like children in a room full of mirrors .. concentrate, be still, or that moment you had, that moment on that hill, or when the hawk flew over, or the kitten came for food and a cuddle, or those old men/women you saw, and pondered, that moment that took you out of all this so that you were immersed in all this, but were still, mind silent, and, for one moment, still, mindless, but Awake, awake!, that moment - it is gone! Or, look! another mirror!

I like this poem. I like this poem very much! Surely he/she must be a Sufi, or Sikh, or Hindu?

I like it very much, reminds me of the many enlightenment words and poems.

On Camino .. you have this chance, this one chance in your life, away from that other world, if you would only switch all the gadgets off, be where you are, day by day, moment by moment. There is no path, there is no thing to learn, there is no constant improvement, there is no 'getting better', there is no 'getting wiser', there is no meditation or yoga to work at, there is no progression - there is only waking up to what you are and have always been -
- there is only this - and there has only ever been only this ...
So ...

"In that tiniest timeless fragment of eternity
When, for just one eternal moment, the games ended
and reality began
I remembered"

Buen Camino!

How well you describe that precious irreplaceable present moment...

One of my favourites from Lao Tzu:

Always we hope
someone else has the answer
some other place will be better some other time
it will all turn out.

This is it

no one else has the answer
no other place will be better
and it has already turned out

At the center of your being
you have the answer
you know who you are
and you know what you want

There is no need
to run outside
for better seeing

Nor to peer from a window

Rather abide at
the center of your being
for the more you leave it
the less you learn

Search your heart
and see
the way to do
is to be

 

[malingerer]

How well you describe that precious irreplaceable present moment...

One of my favourites from Lao Tzu:

Always we hope
someone else has the answer
some other place will be better some other time
it will all turn out.

This is it
no one else has the answer
no other place will be better
and it has already turned out

At the center of your being
you have the answer
you know who you are
and you know what you want

There is no need
to run outside
for better seeing

Nor to peer from a window

Rather abide at
the center of your being
for the more you leave it
the less you learn

Search your heart
and see
the way to do
is to be

one thing i like about this thread is that the replies are so much better than what I have written!!
The malingerer!
Y Bon Camino!

 

[David]

Did you write this david?

"In that tiniest timeless fragment of eternity
When, for just one eternal moment, the games ended
and reality began
I remembered"

Afraid so .... in 1969!

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

one thing i like about this thread is that the replies are so much better than what I have written!!
The malingerer!
Y Bon Camino!

They only complement/compliment a pilgrim with a poet's heart or is that a poet with a pilgrim's heart?

Journey well on your Healing Camino. Starting to believe that it's becoming popular. Sigh. Warm and upright (mountaineering joke) still beats the alternative.

 

[lettinggo]

Afraid so .... in 1969!

Awakening.
I like it very much David.
A young man realizing something important and verbalizing and expressing it.
How could you have known that it would still be important 47 years later
Eternal moment...

 

[malingerer]

Awakening.
I like it very much David.
A young man realizing something important and verbalizing and expressing it.
How could you have known that it would still be important 47 years later
Eternal moment...

The death of that young MP has touched me deeply and without further ado, here is how I feel:

JO

The swifts of summer season fly
so short their time
before they leave us
and so with you
as shots ring out
and life diminished lies
on pavement cold
I hope Valhalla's gates
are flying open wide
for you are amongst
the bravest of the brave
a warrior woman
challenging injustice
inequality
bigotry
hatred
taken from us
far to soon from Earth
to shine above the Way
and beckon on
the souls who say
your light can never die.
So rest in peace Jo
rest in peace.

The Malingerer

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

The death of that young MP has touched me deeply and without further ado, here is how I feel:

JO

The swifts of summer season fly
so short their time
before they leave us
and so with you
as shots ring out
and life diminished lies
on pavement cold
I hope Valhalla's gates
are flying open wide
for you are amongst
the bravest of the brave
a warrior woman
challenging injustice
inequality
bigotry
hatred
taken from us
far to soon from Earth
to shine above the Way
and beckon on
the souls who say
your light can never die.
So rest in peace Jo
rest in peace.

The Malingerer

Thank you. You captured the essence of the lady and the pain and senselessness of her death so poignantly.

 

[cherrys]

It's been wonderful to read all this poetry. Many thanks to forum members who wrote these words, and to those who contributed their favorites. The news and the senseless killings recently have been terrible, thank you very much Malingerer for the last one for Jo. With your consent, may we use it to honor the many others whose lives have been cut short this past week.

 

[JennyH94]

Hi malingerer - I join with Meri and Cherry in thanking you for your wonderful tribute to Jo Cox. She was an exceptional person who truly had the welfare of all in her community in her heart. She will be much missed.
Best, best wishes to you -
Jenny

 

[malingerer]

It's been wonderful to read all this poetry. Many thanks to forum members who wrote these words, and to those who contributed their favorites. The news and the senseless killings recently have been terrible, thank you very much Malingerer for the last one for Jo. With your consent, may we use it to honor the many others whose lives have been cut short this past week.

thank you cherrys and I am honoured you wish to use the poem. Please do so and add my prayers.
The malingerer.

 

[Albertagirl]

A Walk in the Mountains

I don’t know what I sought, maybe the search itself: to call myself a seeker?

The mountains do not care if I should choose to lose myself like any other seeker.

For two days I did not know if I should find the way.

My guides proved useless and my struggles vain, clawing up slippery mountains in the rain.

Maybe the wrong mountains?

There still are mountains there of no return.

So I went back, returning to a place of clarity:

A little mountain hut where I could cease my frantic seeking.

I saw that I could yet return again to where I lost the road, to see what I would find there:

A narrow line of stones across the river ran counter to the flow: a direction, so I go,

Back to the world of mortals one more time.

When I return unto the world of seekers, I bear a promise of mortality; maybe disease, or nothing.

I have got too far lost to ever utterly return and do not want to pay the usual price.

 

[malingerer]

A Walk in the Mountains

I don’t know what I sought, maybe the search itself: to call myself a seeker?

The mountains do not care if I should choose to lose myself like any other seeker.

For two days I did not know if I should find the way.

My guides proved useless and my struggles vain, clawing up slippery mountains in the rain.

Maybe the wrong mountains?

There still are mountains there of no return.

So I went back, returning to a place of clarity:

A little mountain hut where I could cease my frantic seeking.

I saw that I could yet return again to where I lost the road, to see what I would find there:

A narrow line of stones across the river ran counter to the flow: a direction, so I go,

Back to the world of mortals one more time.

When I return unto the world of seekers, I bear a promise of mortality; maybe disease, or nothing.

I have got too far lost to ever utterly return and do not want to pay the usual price.

I like this a lot. Thank you. The malingerer.

I am heading back to Ponferrada last week of July to finish off the CF in memory of a few people but as ever, I long to be back on the veedlepee. Mebbee another little bit of it one day just for the hell of returning and as for prices, I pay that with every footstep and word of poetry. Just like u are doing!!

 

[Albertagirl]

Thank you, malingerer. The rewards are various. I think that this is my first piece of poetry in 45 years. Getting lost in the mountains, like being hanged in the morning, tends to concentrate the mind.

 

[malingerer]

Thank you, malingerer. The rewards are various. I think that this is my first piece of poetry in 45 years. Getting lost in the mountains, like being hanged in the morning, tends to concentrate the mind.

they still hangin folks in Canada? I have been lost many times in my life, mentally, physically, spiritually, financially and emotionally! Would prefer to be lost in the mountains as gittin hanged as being lost is surely u are simply on a different path than the one you intended however, after watching that film The Revenant, methinks the bears might put me off wandering in the wilds of Canada!
Peace and bon camino

The malingerer.

 

[Albertagirl]

Malingerer:
This was my rough approximation of the Samuel Johnson quote:
"Nothing concentrates the mind like the prospect of being hanged at dawn" -- .

I take this to mean that a vivid awareness of my own (fairly) imminent mortality in the sense of being totally lost in the wilderness with no idea of what to do next may have brought a certain vividness to living which resulted in an urge to compose poetry. Of course, this is always my situation, but I have got fairly competent at forgetting in the past forty-five years.
Mary Louise

 

[Whistling]

Thank you for these beautiful poems, you are really gifted Malingerer!

 

[malingerer]

Thank you for these beautiful poems, you are really gifted Malingerer!

and thank YOU for reading them! i really like the contributions other people have made to this thread especially the comments from us older folks! heh! heh! i am now going to pour myself a very large glass of my home made wine and listen to some scratchy vinyl flamenco! methinks the nayboors will b glad to see me off on the next leg of the road!
yours aye and bon camino

The Malingerer.

 

[C clearly]

A Walk in the Mountains
I don’t know what I sought, maybe the search itself: to call myself a seeker?
The mountains do not care if I should choose to lose myself like any other seeker.
For two days I did not know if I should find the way.
My guides proved useless and my struggles vain, clawing up slippery mountains in the rain.
Maybe the wrong mountains?
There still are mountains there of no return.
So I went back, returning to a place of clarity:
A little mountain hut where I could cease my frantic seeking.
I saw that I could yet return again to where I lost the road, to see what I would find there:
A narrow line of stones across the river ran counter to the flow: a direction, so I go,
Back to the world of mortals one more time.
When I return unto the world of seekers, I bear a promise of mortality; maybe disease, or nothing.
I have got too far lost to ever utterly return and do not want to pay the usual price.

I've been watching for your return to the forum after your hike! Last weekend I was in Calgary and went to Johnstone Canyon with my daughter. It was a beautiful day and there were many people out along the trail. As we walked, I wondered (and marvelled) about your solo trip.

 

[Albertagirl]

I've been watching for your return to the forum after your hike! Last weekend I was in Calgary and went to Johnstone Canyon with my daughter. It was a beautiful day and there were many people out along the trail. As we walked, I wondered (and marvelled) about your solo trip.

@C clearly:
Most summers I visit Johnstone's Canyon with a friend, but not this year, as I was heading for the old Cascade fire road near Lake Minnewanka to walk north up the fire trail for 58 km. I then was going west to the headwaters of the Red Deer River, into Skoki and on to Lake Louise (about 110 km total). However, I could not find the junction between the Red Deer River and Skoki. I spent a couple of days in wretched weather scrambling up and down the region looking for a route through. I was definitely reminded of Sam's comment in Lord of the Rings that adventures always look much more interesting and less uncomfortable when related as stories after the event. But I don't suppose I am about to give up on adventures.
Mary Louise

 

[JennyH94]

Today is High July - a day that inspired malingerer to write one of the beautiful poems he's so kindly shared with us on the Forum. Here it is:


The swifts of High July
slice the sky with screams
sharing the air with souls
building strength to southward fly
calling me on

Part of me already waits
in a Spanish city
for my feet to join my self
whilst my guardian angel sings flamenco
Cante Jondo
to call me North
and begin again.

Here in Sydney I won't see the swifts today - they're rare here - I may see my favourite kookaburras though - their laughing always tells me "Don't worry, be happy" - what a gift this is.

To you all, and particularly to you, malingerer - best wishes for a celebration this day - look up to the sky and think of those huge Spanish skies that call us back time and time again.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

A Walk in the Mountains

I don’t know what I sought, maybe the search itself: to call myself a seeker?

The mountains do not care if I should choose to lose myself like any other seeker.

For two days I did not know if I should find the way.

My guides proved useless and my struggles vain, clawing up slippery mountains in the rain.

Maybe the wrong mountains?

There still are mountains there of no return.

So I went back, returning to a place of clarity:

A little mountain hut where I could cease my frantic seeking.

I saw that I could yet return again to where I lost the road, to see what I would find there:

A narrow line of stones across the river ran counter to the flow: a direction, so I go,

Back to the world of mortals one more time.

When I return unto the world of seekers, I bear a promise of mortality; maybe disease, or nothing.

I have got too far lost to ever utterly return and do not want to pay the usual price.

That's beautiful, Thank You.

I like this a lot. Thank you. The malingerer.

I am heading back to Ponferrada last week of July to finish off the CF in memory of a few people but as ever, I long to be back on the veedlepee. Mebbee another little bit of it one day just for the hell of returning and as for prices, I pay that with every footstep and word of poetry. Just like u are doing!!

This little wistful favourite verse of mine is for both of you...

Buen Camino @malingerer

POETRY
Lang Leav

I know you have seen things you wish you hadn't.
You have done things you wish you could take back.
And you wonder why you were thrown into the thick of it all -
why you had to suffer the Way you did.

and, as you are sitting there alone and hurting,
I wish I could put a pen in your hand
and gently remind you

how the world has given you poetry

and now you must give it back.

 

[malingerer]

That's beautiful, Thank You.



This little wistful favourite verse of mine is for both of you...

Buen Camino @malingerer

POETRY
Lang Leav

I know you have seen things you wish you hadn't.
You have done things you wish you could take back.
And you wonder why you were thrown into the thick of it all -
why you had to suffer the Way you did.

and, as you are sitting there alone and hurting,
I wish I could put a pen in your hand
and gently remind you

how the world has given you poetry

and now you must give it back.

I think those last two lines explain a lot. And on this the centenary of the bloody battle of the Somme it is especially poignant. Thank you.
Bon Camino.
The Malingerer.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Yes, those last two lines explain everything...

Ah - the poets of the Great War... their poetry moved me greatly...

Dulce et Decorum est

My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.

and this favourite from the War that followed:

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air… .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr

 

[Albertagirl]

Yes, those last two lines explain everything...

Ah - the poets of the Great War... their poetry moved me greatly...

Dulce et Decorum est

My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.

and this favourite from the War that followed:

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air… .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr

@Wokabaut_Meri:
On this 149th Canada Day, I am remembering this Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and poet who died during WWII. I also remember and honour the soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. One hundred years ago today, 801 soldiers of the regiment went into battle at Beaumont Hamel, part of the early battle of the Somme. The next day, sixty-eight soldiers answered role call. I am wondering in my heart what the poet can do to help us find the way to peace. In our small way, as pilgrims, we walk together as human beings. The poet shows us our hearts as we walk together. May it be enough.

 

[malingerer]

@Wokabaut_Meri:
On this 149th Canada Day, I am remembering this Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and poet who died during WWII. I also remember and honour the soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. One hundred years ago today, 801 soldiers of the regiment went into battle at Beaumont Hamel, part of the early battle of the Somme. The next day, sixty-eight soldiers answered role call. I am wondering in my heart what the poet can do to help us find the way to peace. In our small way, as pilgrims, we walk together as human beings. The poet shows us our hearts as we walk together. May it be enough.

And the men of my clan
went forth to war
Good Irishmen from North and South
Protestant and Catholic
Good Ulstermen
from Donegal and Scotland
They answered the call
from an English king
to fight and die in France
against the German foe
and I wonder at so many foreign strands
wove in this rope
that winds so tight about my throat
as I offer up my words like pebbles
to the cairn
for no one asks the stones
from whence they came.

the malingerer.

Peace and bon camino.

 

[malingerer]

And the men of my clan
went forth to war
Good Irishmen from North and South
Protestant and Catholic
Good Ulstermen
from Donegal and Scotland
They answered the call
from an English king
to fight and die in France
against the German foe
and I wonder at so many foreign strands
wove in this rope
that winds so tight about my throat
as I offer up my words like pebbles
to the cairn
for no one asks the stones
from whence they came.

the malingerer.

Peace and bon camino.

hola!

been up on the cf finishing the stage from Ponferrada to Santiago. Weather was like terrain, brutal! It was 35 in July. Forgotten I had done this in my youth ( ie mid sixties ) and as i am now 78, not quite so easy!
Like most of you , am quite stunned about the news and untimely end to our fellow pilgrim so:

TAKEN

Cruel his ending
cursed be the place
that witnessed the murder
of silence and solitude
beloved of all of us
who step aside from the race

My prayers to his loved ones
my peace to his soul

And now I must walk again
resume my role
leaving space in my rucksack
for those
going home.

the malingerer.

be careful out there, but keep on truckin.
Evil must be defied.

vaya con dios.

 

[malingerer]

hola!

been up on the cf finishing the stage from Ponferrada to Santiago. Weather was like terrain, brutal! It was 35 in July. Forgotten I had done this in my youth ( ie mid sixties ) and as i am now 78, not quite so easy!
Like most of you , am quite stunned about the news and untimely end to our fellow pilgrim so:

TAKEN

Cruel his ending
cursed be the place
that witnessed the murder
of silence and solitude
beloved of all of us
who step aside from the race

My prayers to his loved ones
my peace to his soul

And now I must walk again
resume my role
leaving space in my rucksack
for those
going home.

the malingerer.

be careful out there, but keep on truckin.
Evil must be defied.

vaya con dios.

4.30?

heres why!

4.30

I walk with geisha steps
up the mountain
heart hammering line an old diesel
and

 

[malingerer]

4.30?

heres why!

4.30

I walk with geisha steps
up the mountain
heart hammering line an old diesel
and

looks like my pc failed here!

 

[malingerer]

looks like my pc failed here!

the malingerer!

 

[malingerer]

the malingerer!

next attempt!

4.30

I walk with geisha steps
up the mountain
heart hammering like an old diesel
and lungs wheezing like the carburettor on an old clapped out motor cycle
and I wonder
where do souls go
who have not finished camino?

I pause
look up
to see a trillion stars
and hear them singing gently
"Here!
of course,
Here!"

And I let the tears flow
as that is why I go
a-camino.

To cry in private
and let the morning mist rise up
and mingle them
with daybreak
another day
and 4.30.

the malingerer.

vaya con dios.

 

[malingerer]

next attempt!

4.30

I walk with geisha steps
up the mountain
heart hammering like an old diesel
and lungs wheezing like the carburettor on an old clapped out motor cycle
and I wonder
where do souls go
who have not finished camino?

I pause
look up
to see a trillion stars
and hear them singing gently
"Here!
of course,
Here!"

And I let the tears flow
as that is why I go
a-camino.

To cry in private
and let the morning mist rise up
and mingle them
with daybreak
another day
and 4.30.

the malingerer.

vaya con dios.

when the veedlepee "bubbles up" again its hard to ignore! i will be 79 next year and am still not satisfied! finished the cf again by doing that last stage from Ponferrada to Santiago again and found it tuff! i had hoped this would put miles in my legs but for the life of me I will not be able to do more than very short stages. even a 10km day is hard now mainly due to the Menieres becoming almost lethal! im gittin dragged off to hospital in December to try and put a handle on it. As long as its not handles on the box! any lateral thinkers out there?

Here is one for us thinkers

THOUGHT

Deep in the canyon of the soul
a thought raced the river
of the dark subconscious
took refuge on a hidden beach
and grew
till it slowly climbed the cliffs of doubt
to stand in light

I am it's host
and I make ready
the robes of the road

"Quo vadis Domine?"
I hear it whisper
to echo in my mind
as I turn the compass
to the Source

Once found
all else will follow
and the thought can quiet rest

But Light needs Dark
and the shadow-self of Doubt
must find it's peace
within the other
and so a stronger team
will wake
with war
forgot.

Buen camino and stay safe.

The Malingerer