Pilgrim Soles

Started off with hopeful feet,
Fresh new socks and boots so neat,
The morning air was cool and fine—
Five hundred miles stretched down the line.

But mile by mile and stone by stone,
My happy toes began to moan.
A little rub, a tender spot—
My socks lost hope as my soles got worn.

Every pilgrim feels and knows,
The Camino exacts its toll on soles.
Be you Pilgrim Billy, Bob, or Pete,
Mind your soles and care for your feet!

Blistered heels and aching toes,
Oh my, only God knows how this will go.
Step by step and mile by mile,
Slap on Compeed, try to smile.

The Pyrenees nearly did me in,
Steep rocky climbs through rain and wind.
I changed my socks and rubbed my feet,
Then limped along to find a seat.

At every bar I’d drop my pack,
Stretch my legs and rub my back.
A café con leche eased the pain—
Compeed and Aleve, then off again.

Every pilgrim feels and knows,
The Camino exacts its toll on soles.
Be you Pilgrim Billy, Bob, or Pete,
Mind your soles and care for your feet!

Then came the Meseta, hot and dry,
No shade beneath that endless sky.
My boots were dusty, socks were damp,
My feet looked like a topo map.

Compeed here and Compeed there,
Little patches everywhere.
I’d lost all pride three towns ago—
Just patch me up, and off I go.

By Galicia, rain came down,
Up the hills and through the towns.
My knees complained, my ankles too,
My little toe had turned to blue.

But through the mist the towers rose,
And somehow courage found my toes.
Across the stones my tired feet
Carried me down Santiago’s streets.

Every pilgrim feels and knows,
The Camino exacts its toll on soles.
Be you Pilgrim Billy, Bob, or Pete,
Mind your soles and care for your feet!

I came to find my pilgrim soul,
But learned my feet had played a role.
For wisdom sometimes can be found,
When weary feet keep gaining ground.

So here’s to boots and battered toes,
To every blister pilgrims know.
Our souls may guide us where to go—
But our feet get us there, heel to toe.