I Am Your Journeyman

I am no poet of the

   interior voyage.

But I am a journeyman,

   giving good effort

for wages or food.

I know the paths

    through caves and forests.

I know the edible fruit

    along the way.

I’ll show you the shallow fords

   across the river of tears.

Follow me

    picking the way through the woods

on black days. Heed this moonlight

    exalting the heart even through

this night of fear.

Caution now,

    there may be need for stealth.

Keep pace.

Keep close.

Keep faith.

Savor this good bread,

    considering without regret

the choices you have made.

We’ll arrive safely soon enough,

    resting on Thursday,

moving on, refreshed, on Friday.

    Along the way,

we’ll learn more trust,

   celebrating dews and frosts and thunder.

(This poem was included in Wild Once and Captured)