Afterglow
Afterglow
by CW Johnson | Champlin, MN
What pilgrims pick up on the Camino and bring home.
I think, perhaps, I’ll never know,
Why Pilgrims wear an afterglow.
Those eyes grown wide that shimmer bright,
As if they’ve glimpsed His holy light.
That smile that stretches earth to moon,
A body twirled to nature’s tune.
Their speech imbued with trembling notes,
Their stories aired through choked-up throats.
Their stride—a skip, a gleeful prance;
Such change, such bliss, can’t be by chance.
I think, perhaps, I need to go
Where Pilgrims tread and spirits grow.
Then maybe I will understand
The buzz about this wonderland.
Return, I hope, with joy to show,
And on my face, an afterglow.
Editor’s note: Several of CW Johnson’s poems from his collection, So I Walk, have appeared in previous issues of La Concha. They include: “So I Walk” (Summer 2023), “Tomorrow Santiago” (Spring 2023), “A Meseta State of Mind” (Autumn 2023), and “Ebb & Flow” (Spring 2024).
