Friday, September 12, 2008
Before We Came (poem)
Before We Came
It is true
that when we first started out
everything was fiery.
Great lava flows
pouring down mountains,
cliffs breaking asunder
like pieces of flying chalk
hurled from a child's hand.
Then things got a bit
quieter--
level plains,
soft meadows,
now and then a flower
or a flowing stream.
Now we travel
mostly by starlight
as if in a dream.
Sometimes we are not certain
if we are still plodding forward,
determined pilgrims moving ahead,
or resting somewhere
beside a quiet fire,
nestled in leaves.
What we know is that
this course
is the one we have chosen,
the map we drafted
before we even knew
about the treasure,
the vow we took
long before we came.
It is true
that when we first started out
everything was fiery.
Great lava flows
pouring down mountains,
cliffs breaking asunder
like pieces of flying chalk
hurled from a child's hand.
Then things got a bit
quieter--
level plains,
soft meadows,
now and then a flower
or a flowing stream.
Now we travel
mostly by starlight
as if in a dream.
Sometimes we are not certain
if we are still plodding forward,
determined pilgrims moving ahead,
or resting somewhere
beside a quiet fire,
nestled in leaves.
What we know is that
this course
is the one we have chosen,
the map we drafted
before we even knew
about the treasure,
the vow we took
long before we came.
Dorothy Walters
September 11, 2008
(Image from Wikipedia)
