poems for seekers

JennyH94 said:

Hi Meri -

Thanks so much for your post and for sharing the very beautiful and wise words from Amelia Earhart. I have a folder of poems that I keep and this one, together with malingerer's poems, plus many others, will be added to it. It's a wonderful poem to contemplate.

Cheers - Jenny

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Wokabaut_Meri said:

Hmmm.... wind's in the East...

Why East Wind Chills

Why east wind chills and south wind cools
Shall not be known till windwell dries
And west's no longer drowned
In winds that bring the fruit and rind
Of many a hundred falls;
Why silk is soft and the stone wounds
The child shall question all his days,
Why night-time rain and the breast's blood
Both quench his thirst he'll have a black reply.

When cometh Jack Frost? the children ask.
Shall they clasp a comet in their fists?
Not till, from high and low, their dust
Sprinkles in children's eyes a long-last sleep
And dusk is crowded with the children's ghosts,
Shall a white answer echo from the rooftops.

All things are known: the stars' advice
Calls some content to travel with the winds,
Though what the stars ask as they round
Time upon time the towers of the skies
Is heard but little till the stars go out.
I hear content, and 'Be Content'
Ring like a handbell through the corridors,
And 'Know no answer,' and I know
No answer to the children's cry
Of echo's answer and the man of frost
And ghostly comets over the raised fists.

Dylan Thomas

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Wokabaut_Meri said:

Hmmmmm... as in pondering... easterlies are a rare thing in my backyard but if you're cycling you'll be very glad of a wind from the East - for most routes

Sorry to hear about your SAD. Apparently you can get special lights for that - or Jenny and I could send you some bottled Australian sunshine - or - you could just go a-Caminoing

and Jenny, Richard Burton reading Dylan Thomas - enough to dispel a years worth of SAD.

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JennyH94 said:

Hi malingerer - I'm absolutely blown away by the profundity, the beauty and the strength of your poem. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I hope that all's looking brighter with your health and that your training for your beloved veedlepee is going well.
Remember, "Here comes the sun - doo doo doo doo - Here comes the sun - And St James says - It's alright ..."
Look after your precious spirit -
Best wishes - Jenny

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JennyH94 said:

She surely does! You can feel the sun's rays when she sings ...
Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

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malingerer said:

If I have any say in the manner of my going I intend to have Nina singing "its a good day" when they carry in the box, followed by Pink Flloyd playing "Money" from the "Dark Side of the Moon" and for a grand finale, Jimi Hendrix playing "The Watch Tower" as I love that line, " there must be some kinda way outta here" ! Ya gotta laff!

Being ex-navy I often wonder at how little we seem to know or think about the pilgrims travelling by sea who never made it, and so , for them:

Sitting in the dark
by my western window
I wait for dawn
and day
to lighten grey

A lone gull
brings me murmurs
and whispers from the sea
where drowned ships lie
and pilgrims ancient
softly cry
"Remember me:
I did not make the shore
and until time dries up
this ocean
I needs must wait
for evermore".

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

Twill soon be the Hallowed Eve and yet the winter solstice seems so far away so:

Short
the days of autumn
Small
the light

My shadow
flees before me
unwilling
to wait for spring
as the mists
and fog of winter
roll
like legions dark
and weary
drag my feet

I dream
of that
which my eyes
have not yet seen
Finisterre
and grow afraid
for in all these years
of Camino
I baulk
at such a sight
lest vision give the wings
to that which deep
I hold
and my shadow pause
upon the rocks
before I fly
and never more
return
to mortal walk

The uncharted oceans
of the soul
will see me pass
and whisper
God's Wanderer of the Void
must onward go
Eternal
Camino.

Vaya con Dios y Buen Camino

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

Winter is grinding down the days and an icy wind is causing the leaves to fly into the West like the Elves of Old and so:

I lit a candle in my soul
and walked the long long corridors of my heart

There were countless alcoves
winding cul-de-sacs
and doors firmly closed

I met the ghosts of past resolve
who now held out translucent hands
and whispered
"Remember us, we gave you life".

I gave them blessing
and laid flowers at their feet
for they
are tomorrow's guides to the way
that I must go
and will take my hand
when faced with climbs
and endless weary
never letting go
that darkened thoughts might not assail me
when next I go
A-Camino

Vaya con Dios y Buen Camino

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

There will be a Carnival this evening with floats and music but it is also 11/11 and so :

I stand alone in the corner of a park
and listen to the bugle call
two minutes silence
and encapsulate a life so shortened
by a bullet
that took less than a heartbeat
to murder
all my futures.

Vaya con Dios amigos.

The Malingerer

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Albertagirl said:

@malingerer
Thank you. Your poetry gives me courage, because it faces truth head on. How can we do such things to one another?

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malingerer said:

Hi and thank you.

This was a very odd poem. I didnt know what was bothering me for weeks. Every time I walked through the park I got this smell. A recent documentary put me on the spot until I realised the Somme didnt finish officially till November. We hear so much of that dreadful first day and do not realise how long the battle dragged on for. I got to feeling cold and miserable and the damn smell was choking me and I thought one day this must have been hell to fight through. That night the poem verbalised in my mind. I lost the uncle for whom I am named (John) in October, 1918 just weeks before the Armistice. AT that time it was not approved for NOK'S to visit war graves lest they realised the full horror of what their menfolk had endured. I felt and saw a young soldier in my mind almost asking me to write the words and so I did. The point of the poem is also "the flowers of tomorrow" who would have to do it all over again, 20 years later on. The salmon comes home to die and I think that says it all.

Once again, thank you for your appreciation.
It means a lot.
Vaya con Dios,
The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

THE YEAR TURNS

Winter smiles in the evening rain
and plays the courtier
bowing to the departing sun
like star-crossed lovers of old
meeting at Equinox
then departing to Solstice
as the Earth turns.

So do I
to walk The Way
and find the Light
gathering strength within me
as slow
slow
the plans do form

Choice of robe
and footwear follows
as each seeks it's place within my 'sack
and gentle make the load
upon my back.

I will not fall to "posting on"
and leave her in the hands of strangers
for many miles
we have walked together
and like an old and much loved couple
we fit.

She sings to me
with creak and groan
to match my own
bellyaching up the mountain
on my way
to Santiago
Light
and Home.

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

Sometimes, when you come tottering out of the night, lo and behold there is a little place just opening. You get that first coffee and sit down. Briefly, you have your own magic moment of stillness and one-liness in a sea of pilgrims and so, looking out of my flat window, waiting for the dawn I notice this:

I
am the last of leaves
I have held the line
against the great winds
and the driving rain
sleet
and the numbing cold

When I fall
there will still be joy
for the Earth will cradle me
and take my energy
back to the parent tree
and in the spring
I will dance again
greet the rains
and the fresh breeze
for I
shall be
the first of leaves.

The Malingerer

Hang on in there Peregrinos, it'll soon be the solstice and you can polish the boots and make ready, for you KNOW, you will go again!!

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malingerer said:

As storms batter this isle I think of those at sea and so:

REFUGEE REFUGIO

I saw the Christ-child washed ashore
from a sinking boat
Drownded
Lifeless
Pale
serene in that final sleep.

They put him in a plazzie bag
beside his family
mouths agape like dying fish
stranded on a foreign shore
whilst the Trumpet brays
"more nukes! more!"
and the Sputum laughs
"we can beat you!"
whilst the men of the little isle
cry out
"More ships of war! More!".

I heard no man of peace
bid the waves be still
as still the rubber boats
put out to sea
as boats did once
at Galilee
to leave their fishes
drownded on a foreign shore
that refugees'
refugio.

Vaya con dios

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

Hi folks and a Happy New Year!

As this is the first day of such herewith:

FIRST DAY

Dawn edges in slowly
trembling like a fledgling
lured on by the light
that glimmers twixt raindrop and squalling wind

My robin comes early
looks in my window
checks I am still here
then goes his way

An old man
first of the dog-walkers
makes a slow circuit of the park
without his dog
Perhaps it left him with the old year

There are no buses
so into town I walk
bidding strangers
"A good New Year"
and light my candle in the church
then homeward wend

I drink my wine
count the days to Camino
and start to laugh
for sun, wind and rain
are the robins of my heart
and I cannot walk the road
without them flying on
calling me
chiding me with love
that I am slow and old
but still a Pilgrim
as I watch my shadow whispering
"Vaya con Dios"
turning my day to gold.

Walk soft and stay safe.

Yours aye.
The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

Musings at midwinter.

MIDWINTER DREAMING

A gale of thoughts blew through my mind
this winter morn
matching the storm
without
with a rain of fears
within
my troubled world

Power struts the stage
setting my soul to shivers
like the timbers of my heart
afloat on the seas of deep emotion
with ragged sails like prayer flags
fluttering defiance

And then
a robing sings from a high tree
proclaiming that to him
his life is now
immediate
and so my footfalls
this one
that one
stop
study a pebble
admire a tiny flower
a lizard
reconnecting with the whole
cosmos
camino
eternal goal

vaya con dios

the malingerer

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Wokabaut_Meri said:

What an apt, comforting and soulful post to land upon after my intentional but self-abnegating sabbatical... time to fill the cup again... it's been a draining yet oddly fulfilling time - so many close friends going through sudden unexpected trials and tribulations... we've all been rediscovering and reasserting all that is important in our lives...

So thank you @malingerer for your wise words echoing the profound and complex dance of pain entwined with beauty.

Thank you so much.

A Prayer

Refuse to fall down
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down,
lift your heart toward heaven,
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you from lifting your heart
toward heaven
only you.
It is in the middle of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good
came of this,
is not yet listening.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés
The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die

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malingerer said:

LUKAS C/O IVAR AND MARIA

Welcome
you came in on the wings
of a great storm
battering my coast

May the great winds blow away
all obstacles in your path
and the stars will pierce
the skies
as clouds draw back
and mountains wait
for you
to make your very first of footfalls
on your way.

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

WAITING

written for those going through it , have been through it and will go thru it again! I call these the "days of limbo" and I don't mean wriggling under poles either!

WAITING

.................is sandpaper on the soul
rubbing the heart to raw
as I count the days
when next I go
a-camino

They say today is spring
but a driving wind
from out the west
slams me against the wall
as a rain in squall
howls with glee
and blends with sand
to scour me

A not so gentle hint perhaps
to scour lists
and discard all
I do not need

But there is bud
upon the trees
and crows and magpies vie
for the choicest tree

I keep my feeder full
for the smaller birds
because
I
am pilgrim
and on the way
I too have need
of feed and prayer
so oft so gladly given
in a stranger's smile
and children shyly piping
"Buen Camino".

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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ivar said:

Thank you for this!

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malingerer said:

ITS READ ONE GET ONE FREE DAY!

These two were written coming up from Malaga those years ago and still resonate with me. I don't carry a tent anymore but I had a lot of fun when I did!

EL TORCAL

The wind howls down
from the cliffs above

like a grey wolf
it harries my tent

it mocks me

then scatters the herd of clouds
to give me a sunset

and then
star
after star
after star

Unforgettable!

ANTEQUERA

In a side street
I found my sign
An octagonal fountain
by the Convent of Mercy

Lady of The Road
grant me that: Mercy
that I might be
as a child again
when my faith was simple
and sustained me

The convent wall
still has shell and bullet holes
from the days of civil war
but now
pigeons rest in the larger spaces
and the Zen fountain
trickles
with happiness

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

QUESTIONS

Written for those mired in anxieties and fears (including my self!)

From whence do I come
and where do I go
I stand and I let
the winds round me blow

"From time to beyond time"
the answer comes slow
so I carry on walking
now that I know
that when pacing is gentle
I go with the flow

I am one of the sparks
from fire and flame
born to keep moving
and whisper The Name

So I soak up the smiles
and drink deep of the wine
when Spain warms my heart
and clear vision is mine
for walking The Way
helps light up my soul
whilst my feet bear the burden
and are proud
of their role.

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

SYMBOLS?

Signposts on the seeker's path?

Coins of silver
coins of gold
coins upon the river told
of something coming
perhaps a someone?
I do not know
I listen to the ebb and flow
of tides and signs
on a scallop shell
bringing wisdom
from the well
that sweetens questions
answers no
as soft I lace my boots
and go
down the road
a-camino
to find my self
goes on before me
the shadow of no-shadow
seeking me.

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

FOR LONDON

As I sit in my Weston flat
I watch the wind and rain
of spring
drive in upon the trees
urging them to green
eager for the flowers
and I wonder

What blossoms bloom
in a murderer's heart
what evil dreams
that turned a street
to a place of mourning
and filled the air
with terror
blood
and screams?

I can but pray
and pilgrim be:
whispering:

"Walk on
Walk on."

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

WHAT IF?

The great religions of the West seemed to have originated in the desert and I wonder...

What if?...

I had been born on the ice
with a hard packed floor of snow
and an ice-block roof ?

What if
no straw or manger
but fur and pelt

What if
no low of oxen
but the wolf's howl
and the snarl of bear

What if
no journey on a donkey
but dog sled
across a frozen sea

Would my message
have been different?

What if
I had not died
on a cross
but abandoned on a floe

Did I come South
to change the world
or was I shut out when I heard
the gates
slam hard and fast
to the Arctic wastes
of Eden?

And I sense the Shadow
slipping North
slowly whispering
""I needs must go
and ope anew
that Camino."

What if...


The Malingerer

Vaya con Dios.

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malingerer said:

THE ROSE AND THE CROSS

Written in the early hours as I count down to "check in on-line" day and wonder yet again after 14 years, am I still up for this? Bad balance- attacks can scare me shitless at times! Pardon the expression but its apt! And so.....

THE ROSE AND THE CROSS

And in a dream
inheritance I find
left for future-self
in future-years of mind
when sorrow
blood
and tears
have foundered faith
and weary grow my footsteps
to the West
that place of final ending
and earned rest
beckoning the Seekers
blessed
who wear
The Rose Tattoo

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

A PRE-DEPARTURE PRAYER

As the "season" is well and truly upon us and the air is full of "jitters", fears and anxieties I am sure we all do some form of praying!
this is one of mine!

By Cross and Candle
Rose and Smoke
o'er sacred water
I invoke
Powers good
and
Powers great
to keep me
to The Light
on darkened Way
ere sun has risen
and softly sings the wind:
"Quo Vadis
Domine".
and I whisper to myself
"Heaven knows,
Heaven knows."

Walk soft and stay safe.

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

VIA ETERNO

I finally got the Fourth Tattoo, which I have been mulling over for a couple of decades! Its a simple linear design and so...

Raido, the rune of travel

lays down

on a Tau Cross

and The Serpent twines

following an ancient path

of endings

and new beginnings

The Via Eterno

of the seeker.

I am off to Madrid on May 9th, and then to Caceres, and then! point myself North and back again to the veedlepee!
I am allowing myself 25 days to get to Astorga, due to health reasons etc and will probably have to do a lot of buses/taxis but get there I will!

Walk soft, stay safe and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

VIA ETERNO

I finally got the Fourth Tattoo, which I have been mulling over for a couple of decades! Its a simple linear design and so...

Raido, the rune of travel

lays down

on a Tau Cross

and The Serpent twines

following an ancient path

of endings

and new beginnings

The Via Eterno

of the seeker.

I am off to Madrid on May 9th, and then to Caceres, and then! point myself North and back again to the veedlepee!
I am allowing myself 25 days to get to Astorga, due to health reasons etc and will probably have to do a lot of buses/taxis but get there I will!

Walk soft, stay safe and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

CACERES

Well, I got there after a flight to Madrid and a 4 hour train journey the following morning and so...

A walled city

like that of my childhood

except here there were no cannons

on the walls

pointing down the street of my birth

saying:

"No Papists here!"

but the rains brought the thunder

and the lightning

with the sickle-wings

flying between

like children playing in a fountain

calling

"You are back!"

and my heart screams

"I never leave!"

Vaya con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

PLASENCIA

I made another bus journey from Caceres as health debatable!

However, Camino has messages for me and so..

PLASENCIA

Another walled city
ringed with rain
and thunder storms
but the sickle-wings lead me
to a great cathedral:
"Santa Clara".

I need no tourist guide or map
I let my heart lead my feet
to stunning interiors
and soaring vaults

There are no candles here
for me to light
but the one within burns brightly
so I softly on my way do go
a-camino.

The malingerer

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malingerer said:

MANCHESTER MADNESS

There are children lying
amidst the dead
the dying
the maimed

They are the tributes to terror
who needs no music
but screams
and drinks only blood
in the name of God

I must return to Camino
there are souls
with whom to journey

for every step
a prayer
for every prayer
a footfall.

Yours in sadness

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

CALZADA

I thought I would attempt this stretch just to see if I could manage. Alas, I made it to Castellanos and then went to hell on a rail! First my vision went, then I started to weave and I knew my balance problem was beginning to rear its ugly head. Then the arthritis in my lower back went doolally and this is were my whole upper body starts to twist anti-clockwise so that it is 90 degrees from my direction of travel! It is both painful and scary. I was down to ten paces, sort myself out and another ten. I was sitting on the ground every few minutes. A lifetime later I was sitting on the pavement in Calzada, absolutely exhausted. Then the voice! "Are u alright? Can I help?" I looked up and a friendly German pilgrim got me to my feet. He took my rucksack and put it round his neck and off he went! We found my hostal (El Pozo) and he accepted a coffee. Turned out that not only was his rucksack exactly the same as mine (Deuter Futura Vario; 50+10) but he was 65 and retired. That was the same age I was when I first got into Camino. Then we discovered we were both retired Social Workers! Coincidences? I think not. A senior Frenchman then joined us and between my English, French and Spanish and the other two with German, French, Spanish and English we had a fine International! It was decided my walking days were over unless I wanted to be permanently crippled so we all said goodbye and I stayed two days before catching a bus to Zamora and eventually Leon and then Bilbao and then home. I promised God yet again, no more! BUT I have already designed a hip belt trailer just to get the weight off my back and then we will see!!
And so....

Despair
laced with hope
Camino final

My walking days are over
but the sickle-wings fly over
calling ;
"We go North
and will wait for you!
And when we fly South.
why
we will wait for you there too!"

And we smile
for the wheel of Samsara
does not frighten me
It is the endless cycle of life
and I
am on it.

Spain has stitched it's soul
into my spine
and it will hold me together

I can stand
I can sit
I can lie down
There are wheels
And I laugh

I can burn my boots
when they grow too heavy
or donate the Robes of the Road
to charity

Perhaps some budding caminato
will find them
and onward go
a-camino
with my ghost trailing along silently
willing them on.

Vaya con Dios

Walk soft and stay safe.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

ZAMORA AND THE END OF THE ROAD

I caught the bus to Zamora but could find no connection for Astorga. I took the bus to Leon and then to Bilbao and home. looks like the veedlepee is over for another while until I come up with a solution. So, herewith the last poem for some time. It is fitting in so many ways, as given the atrocities of yesterday in Manchester, I have no heart for it anyway. That little girl's face will haunt me for some time. To any Mancunians out there, you have my prayers. Sympathy seems such a light word.

Zamora and an ending
I found that old church I remember
as it remembers me
I placed my coins in the slot
and watched the electric candles flicker
and said my few words
"Forgive me my human frailties Lady
and thank you for getting me
this far".
I leave my heart here for it is too heavy
to carry.

Vaya con Dios

Walk soft and stay safe

The Malingerer

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HedaP said:

@malingerer Thank you.
I love walking softly and slowly. It's the best way to see lots of wildlife.
Take care and buen camino.

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malingerer said:

GRENFELL

Black

the tower stands

charred

Monument to greed

supplanting need

Green

the trees in leaf surround

proclaiming life

defy the darkness

Years of souls

untimely ripped from time

MADRID
BRUSSSELS
PARIS
MANCHESTER
LONDON BRIDGE
JO COX
GRENFELL

What can I do?

I am pilgrim

I walk

I pray

For me it is still

each step a prayer

each prayer

a footfall.

Walk soft and stay safe.

As ever,

Vaya con Dios.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

Thanks Heda!

Are u out there somewhere on the Veedlepee? I love it to bits even when its trying to smite me! Its a perpetual love / hate relationship almost and I get grumpy when I'm off it!
As ever, walk soft and stay safe.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

A QUESSTION

Where is the centre
of the turning wheel

I walk
to find the stillness
at the heart of motion

I go out
that I might come home

I seek the source
of the spiral

where the question
is the answer

and all roads
end

Walk soft. Stay safe
and as ever

Vaya
con Dios

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

THE LOST TIMETABLE

Somewhere between the last universe
and this
I lost my timetable

The timelines
are often closed for repair
and stars shut down

I think I am stranded
and must walk The Ways
to find my junction

Perhaps I will wither
and go no further
for the deeps of space
are as my oases

So few

So far between

and the thieves of Memory
often lie in wait
to sow confusion

But my Guardian Angel
whispers
on the stellar wind
that I must patience learn

which is why
I go
a-Camino.

Walk soft. Stay safe.

And as ever

Vaya
con Dios.

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

EMOTIONS

Emotions are a sea

you can drown

but learn to swim

dive

and there is another world

of different life and

great deeps.

Currents can take you away

and on the surface

winds

will lend you energy.

You are not master here

and partnership

can be costly

for life is a hunter.

Do not show fear

but respect

and each encounter

will be new

and you will learn

and grow

each time you go

a-camino

that every step

you take

leads on

with no way back.

Walk soft. Stay safe.

and as ever

Vaya

Con Dios.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

PRE-DAWN DARK

I wake

my mind still full

of undreamt dreams

unfolded thoughts

still cloying my brains

like old treacle


I need the sun

to burn the residue

of a yester-self

warm my blood

and bend me to the road


My pack lies grumpy

in a corner

it never sleeps

and cares not what

I put inside

or else leave out


It holds forever

all my soul can care for

and stars still wait

in the pre-dawn dark

to welcome me

to the search again

that one true place

where peace enfolds me

holds me

makes me whole

makes a way

on which my soul can walk

another day.

Walk soft, Stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

The Malingerer

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malingerer said:

THE NEXT CAMINO

I saw footprints in the water

and watched a horse fly by

The summer birds have left me

and I walk an empty sky

"Come South!

Come South!"

The wind it roars

as roses turn to hail

and the road it waits so patiently

for my boots upon the trail

"I have no wealth

and bad my health"

I whisper to the night

but my soul it jeers

at these made up fears

and calmly strikes a light

that points the way

by night and day

to teach me how to fight


And I will go

a-camino

if even for a mile

for what I know is waiting

on that dusty sacred aisle


"Brave!

Be brave!"

my Mithras bull upon the wall

it cries;

"you have the robes

the road is yours

and you may lean upon your stave


And soft within my heart

I wait

for my journey

to commence

when doors and walls

will move aside

as The Way it opes

the gate.

Walk soft. Stay safe.

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

FOLLOWING BACKWARDS

I was a Ferryman

I took the gold from souls

who sought to cross the great river

and after a trillion of times

I had great store

and wasted from ennui.


I tied up my boat one dawn

and took the sack from a locker

in the hold

It was heavy with guilt and sin and coin.


The first of the queue stepped forward

and I knew

she had no coin

but she was long of leg and hair

and I knew

she was a Wanderer

for she handed me her rucksack

and I gave her

my boat.


I lurched along the path of the dead

for my legs were unused to such activity

and scattered wealth and sin at random

as my walk began to steady.


There were short poles strapped to the mochila

and these I used to speed me on

for I ran towards my past

and far from the future

I wanted the source:

beginning.


I followed the footprints I had left

as markers from my yesteryears

to where the shadow-horse

and my Guardian Angel

waited.


We were old now and ethereal

and glided silently

through empires

plagues

and great battles

where men died

often in the name of the same God.


Volcanoes erupted

floods engulfed

seas roared

the earth shook

and life-forms came and went.


There were no answers

only questions

and this I knew

I am mine own answer

to the question that is me.


So we turned around

to follow yet again

that lonely road

whispering

"Quo vadis, Domine? "


Walk soft. Stay safe

and as ever,

Vaya con Dios


The Malingerer.

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malingerer said:

BORDERS

Some

made by Kings

others

by mountains

great rivers

oceans

Some by creed

colour

ability or disability

The conscious mind

the unconscious

The heart becomes an arena

as I turn to my Self

lest I be drowned in conflict

birthed of dream

blood

and nightmare rage:

the legions of futility.

Walk soft. Stay safe and

as ever

Vaya con Dios.

The malingerer.

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HedaP said:

Dear Malingerer
I’ve dipped in and out of this thread over the years and I’ve finally sat down and read the lot from start to finish. Loved every word.
The birds in my backyard are a constant source of pleasure. It’s spring here and I have a pair of koels living in a large tree beside my place. My father always called them rain birds because their call is supposed to forecast rain. They are cuckoos and the female will have already laid her egg in the nest of a wattle bird. But unlike most cuckoos they do not kick out the eggs already in the nest. They are visitors from New Guinea and will fly north to their home at the end of the summer.
Like the rain birds and you, I am always planning another camino but never quite sure it will happen.
Take care, my pilgrim friend and, as always, walk with god.

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HedaP said:

Sounds like a plan, Malingerer. I always like to have a plan. In my opinion, if you have a plan you have a purpose or at least a reason to get up in the morning. And a friend to do it with! What more can you ask? Buen camino and may you both walk with God.
PS My tattoo is of a butterfly but it is 30 years old. When I’m 80 I’ll get another one.

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HedaP said:

In my country it would be your totem. Lovely totem. My butterfly was to celebrate the birth of the first of many nieces. Her name is Vanessa and vanessa is a genus of butterflies known throughout the world. My secret tattoo is old and has faded but I actually like it all the more. For me it symbolised rebellion at a time when I couldn’t do it publicly. I remember thinking before I got it done that when I got put into a nursing home I would be embarassed if I had a tattoo. The funny thing is tattoos are now fashionable and lots of folk have them. Heck some folk have whole arms and legs or even whole bodies tattooed. Besides I’m way past being embarassed about any past choices.
May you walk with God.
H

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HedaP said:

Thank you, Malinger. I’ll be thinking of this poem as I go about my day.[/QUOTE

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