9: An Ode to the Road
December 21, 2017
* Each and every day I wake and walk with the sun.
* It starts low, climbing over hillsides, rising slowly.
* At last it finds its place in the sky
* and begins to color the Meseta.
*
* Front and center a shadow grows.
* It looks at me with indifference – a mirror of my darker side.
* Fear, insecurity, doubt,
* The manifestation of my inner demons.
*
* Each and every day, I wake and walk and confront them.
* If I fight and struggle, I hurt and suffer.
* If I push them away, I push myself away.
* I cannot hide, I cannot run,
* I can only bear witness.
*
* Salvation lies within absence.
* But do I do it? Do I dare eclipse the sun?
* To turn from the shadows is to turn from truth.
* I would be swallowed whole.
*
* My shadow is here,
* my shadow is me.
* So long as I walk the Way,
* it will keep me company.
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* I can't be scared
* I mustn't be afraid.
* I must continue on and on and on,
* moving toward the falling sun.
*
* Each and every day, I wake and walk towards Santiago.
* The closer I get, the lighter I feel.
* The sun hangs low, peering over hillsides, descending slowly.
* Color fades from the Meseta, and my shadow is behind me.
*
* Westward lies Santiago, and I look.
* The sun has set, the dark has settled.
* A fire begins to grow deep inside.
* It lights the valley and shows me the Way.
* I wake and walk toward the Light,
* closer and closer to Santiago.