Shadow Pilgrim
Shadow Pilgrim
by Suzanne Doerge | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
She first appeared in early morning
much taller than I; her thin legs
extended out before me,
pilgrim of the Middle Ages.
Dressed in pants, like a man, as if
from my time, perhaps for her protection.
She walked in my shadow, even though
I had set out to walk in hers—
our hats, bundles, steps lifting-falling in sync.
I asked her why it was she walked the Camino.
Her only reply was the ceaseless click of a wise, old
walking stick and the slosh of water in a gourd.
In silence, we walked on, bound to one another.
With each step I took, she stepped too—
over Roman bridges, across cobblestone roads,
through abandoned villages.
I pointed to the ruins of the 10th century pilgrim hostel
just as she raised her hand to do the same
as though to say, she had stayed there once.
When I slogged to climb the slope, she slowed.
When I sat to catch my breath, she plopped down
at my side; her pack at rest alongside mine.
Slurping merciful water from the village fountain,
we both bowed our heads in gratitude.
As morning passed, without a word, she grew shorter,
just my size, walking softly by my side.
Where I turned my gaze, she gaped there too,
breathing waves of wheat and vineyards of promise.
Both of us nodding with the sunlit sunflowers
that brightened our stride.
Sometime past noon, she flagged behind,
her feet still tied to mine.
I turned to tip my hat, she tipped hers too,
as though to concede it was my turn to take the lead.
Late afternoon, she finally spoke in a whisper
of shuffling leaves—
What has the Camino taught you so far?
I pondered, walking a few more hills and valleys.
Finally, I replied—We are never really alone.
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 (page 36) La Concha. Doerge’s poems “Village Square,” “Fields of Wheat,” “Delight,” “¿Algo Más Señora?,” “Losing Things,” “Tapestry of Luminosity,” and “The Return,” which are also part of that collection, were published in the Summer 2022 (page 32), Autumn 2023 (page 13), Winter 2024 (page 46), Spring 2024, Summer 2024, Autumn 2024, and Winter 2025 issues of La Concha, respectively.
