Tapestry of Luminosity
Tapestry of Luminosity
by Suzanne Doerge | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Upon leaving Santiago,
each pilgrim, in their own time,
lifts high a sheer silver cloth
until it billows in the clouds
allowing its length to fall soft
across the entire expanse of the Camino.
The porous veil drifts to the ground
where it soaks up the path’s many moods,
allowing all pain and disappointments
to sift through
and as it does, the cloth absorbs
vibrating colours of countless stories told
in hundreds of languages, inspired by
thousands of wisdom words, revealed
in millions of dreams, traversed
by billions of footfalls.
Each pilgrim, in rhythm
with their own heart,
lifts what has become
a luminous tapestry,
draws it into themselves
and offers it up
to those they love
and those they will never know,
with a commitment to walk back
into their life—
emboldened to live it
with authenticity.
Editor’s note: This poem is from Doerge’s collection, Footfalls: Poems of the Camino (Shanti Arts Publishing, 2022). Find a review of that collection in the Winter 2023 issue of La Concha. Doerge’s poems “Village Square,” “Fields of Wheat,” “Delight,” “¿Algo Más Señora?,” and “Losing Things,” which are also part of that collection, were published in the Summer 2022, Autumn 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024 issues of La Concha, respectively.
