The Modern Pilgrimage

The Modern Pilgrimage

I left for the usual reasons: 

adventure, escape, economy, curiosity, vanity. 

The destination mattered enormously 

until the road began having opinions.

It took my certainty first. 

Then my money, my shoes, 

my patience, 

and several cherished theories about myself.

I met people who traveled toward God, 

away from love,

 or simply because the bus was cheaper. 

We all called it something different. 

The road called it education.

Somewhere between the mountain 

and the wrong turn, 

I stopped asking 

how much farther 

and began wondering 

who I would be when I got there.

That was the pilgrimage.

Not arriving, but being altered by the distance.

I came home with fewer answers, 

better questions, 

and a suspicious respect for blisters.

Home was exactly where I left it.

I was not.

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This journey of destroyed preconceptions prompted by DVerse Poets Pub. They might be tripping.

©2026 Christopher Reilley 

 

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