May 26, 2024
May 26, 2024
by Taryn Deckard | Bowling Green, KY
“Buen camino,” we say, brushing shoulders
with strangers (neighbors) from every corner of the earth.
“Buen camino,” echo the slugs on the grassy path
and Welby the Dog
as he greets us with a feather in his mouth—
like a toothpick,
reminding us we are right
where we should be.
It’s love.
They say the word “love” has no place in poetry.
It’s too abstract, it must be concrete—
but how else do we capture the feet in no hurry
the hands with extra band-aids to spare
the minds of patient translators
and the hearts of caretakers
that make every person
and animal
feel like a friend?
It’s love.
The spirit is woven in each shoelace
like the matching braids in our hair
following us to the cathedral
Doing Hard Things
(alone and together)
through holy conversations and
exhausted laughter.
Café con leche, a sip saved for the end,
more than a drink
more than a hike
the Camino—
a journey
a compass
a forever friend.
