Tandem
Tandem
by Rebecca Ring | Salt Lake City, UT
Don’t we all want to go it alone at times
temper our metal, silence the conversation
and face
the monologue within
make the journey with nothing
but our own wiles
meet the uncertainty of a dark wood
or steep terrain of sliding rocks
open fields of thirst, with no one
to confirm the next step or next stop
spend moments alone
with spirits in the murk
bygone travelers over the self-same ruts
whose wooden wheels push through mud
their steps apace with ours
or seize the opportunity of a sideways tack
a nap beneath a tree
a finger in the dust to check
the direction of the sun?
But moving in tandem is its own miracle.
Was it accidental
you and I left the same prints,
our leather boots identical
but for size, their respective grit
sifting and merging between us?
Was it their sympathetic strides
that kept us side by side
when we drifted apart?
The path
from Villafranca Montes de Oca
dove so far into the valley
there was nowhere to go
but up. And on the other side
after a climb
when we looked back from the top
a pair of shadows followed in our tracks
people (ahead of more)
who know by name
this fellowship that allows us
in a dizzying moment
to be alone together.
Editor’s note: This poem is from the collection Dreams of Passing Fire: Companion Poems from the Camino (Shanti Arts Publishing, 2024). Find a review of that collection here.
