Shadows of Recklessness

a prudent pilgrim
walking in another’s steps
avoiding shadows

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Somewhere on the Road to Santiago

My response to Carpe Diem #1118 Recklessness

Today we are continuing on the Road to Santiago de Compostela, but before we can set off, we need a guide.

After Paulo said goodbye to Mme Lourdes, he left the village and walked in the direction Mme Lourdes had sent him. After a while he encountered a gypsy. Presuming that the gypsy was his guide, he greeted him. However, the gypsy looked at him and said, “I hadn’t thought that I would meet you so soon”, which disconcerted Paulo a bit but he saw no harm in responding to what the gypsy said.

Another man appeared and said to Paulo, “You don’t have to climb a mountain to find out whether or not it’s high.” Paulo had forgotten the most elementary rules of self-protection, a safe word or password, and had thrown himself body and soul into the arms of the first stranger he met. “The ship is safest when it’s in port, but that’s not what ships were built for,” he replied, which was the correct response. Meanwhile, the man and the gypsy stared looked at each other for some time, with no sign of fear or challenge. Then the gypsy left the knapsack on the ground, smiled disdainfully, and walked off in the direction of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

[…] “My name is Petrus,” said the new arrival as soon as the gypsy had disappeared behind the huge stone that I had circled a few minutes earlier. “Next time, be more cautious.” […] (Source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)

high in the sky
against the blueish of blue
the white of an eagle

© Chèvrefeuille