The Traveler As dark night dawned a traveler from the west approached alone He carried little but a staff of wood so worn it shone He begged of me a place to rest, and so I took him in He told me stories of his past, of lechery and sin I gave him bread, a slice of cheese, and wine as dark as plum I knew not, then, he would someday in full pay back this sum About his journey he went on throughout the night’s wee hours And did not rest till morning rose to wake the dozing flowers He told me of his tainted youth when he was young and hairless He lived a filthy, reckless life among men debauch and careless He felt his hope abandon him and gave up all his dreams His life had turned its back on him, or so to him it seemed He lived this bitter life of no rewards till one odd day He met a woman of the trees, perfect in every way With this sweet girl he spoke for hours; she drew his black heart in But the clever nymph could not stay long with a man whose life was sin She soon was gone, but her memory lived on inside his soul He vowed right then and there that he would make the broken whole The sublime joys of life and love surfaced in his heart like that Against his wicked past they took their stand in fierce combat And so he departed to traverse the earth, to wander in time and space To travel the lands where his name was not known and no one had seen his face He sought to find the girl that he had known so long before To show her that a man could change, to show her that there was more And as he wandered across the world, through tunnel and town and pass, He realized the fragility of delicate humankind’s emotions of glass He learned the words of wisdom and what it truly was to feel In time his eyes began to see, his words to sooth, his hands to heal So as he traveled those countless miles over land and over sea, Living chiefly off the charity of kindred folk like me, He shared his story of change and love a hundred thousand times Inspiring men and women alike to forget the heights and climb I asked as he finished if he really thought that he would find that girl He responded that, at this point, he was letting life unfurl He took great joy in planting his seeds to grow in people’s heads He said her presence in his heart was worth more than their being wed And with that, he was gone, and I knew as he left that I never would see him again But I knew just as well that I’d never forget the words of my traveling friend Night after night I prayed for him, hoping not that his journey would end But praying, instead, that his touch could be felt on the heart of every man
