Sojourn, Camino by Kate Marshall Flaherty

February 24, 2022
Poem name: Sojourn, Camino Poet name: Kate Marshall Flaherty Poem begins: Past switchbacks of scree and pebbled paths we will walk through the Pyrenees to the sacred place where incense swings Somewhere we will leave a stone on a mound of rocks, walk and walk to the end and the sea, where we’ll throw our last shell back. The rhythm of footfall, femur, pelvis and rocking sacrum will soothe and soften the knots deep in our thoughts, bodies and bones. We hope this journey will bring us back to being the bipedal creatures we are, nomads on this land—hunters of beauty, gatherers of stories, who seek still to love. Even as we domesticate and cultivate, we are wanderers, our steps as numerous as the stars. We were made to walk softly on this earth, leave a trace imprint in sand soon washed away under other soles treading the same sacred roots. We are walking to arrive at rhythm’s beginning. End of poem. Credits: Copyright © Kate Marshall Flaherty Copyright © Kate Marshall Flaherty “Sojourn, Camino” was first published in Peregrine, Amherst Writers and Artists’ 2019 journal, and was chosen for the Aga Khan Museum’s exhibition on the theme of Sanctuary in 2019. Kate Marshall Flaherty has five books of poetry and numerous poems in Canadian and International Anthologies. She guides StillPoint Writing Workshops online, and writes spontaneous P.O.E.M.s “Poems Of the Extraordinary Moment” for folks for charity during the pandemic. See her performance poetry at katemarshallflaherty.ca