Friday Pilgrims

There is a wonderful, faith filled group of women who can be found here. They have a weekly set of questions for anyone to answer. It's a fun way of building cyber community, but not really what I'm doing here. However, this week their questions lead me to this poem. The title comes from the latin (I think, if not, then some other dead language) word for pilgrim and the first set of the couplets derive from medieval pilgrim's practices. The second come from trying to live faithfully. Which is more than I usually say about my writings, but I was worried that if you didn't know the same set of arcane and esoteric knowledge I know you would be very confused. I will happily answer (some) questions as they arise.
Anyway, here:

Peregrina

Knees…

Sore from uneven ground
Shuffling forward, scrape by scrape

Sore from kneeling too long
Sending desperate prayers into silence

Fingers…

Mindlessly tracing small images
Molded to a problem they can hold

Marking progress over beads
Measuring repetition, faint glimmers of hope

Eyes…

Seeing only the destination
Shining for the faithfuls’ reward

Squeezed shut, not daring to look
Soaked with tears, tears of hope and fear

Souls
Separated by history
Style of practice

But one in
Mystical body
Melded through faith
Amen.

Written 8/4/07
post edited 8/23/07 to fix some typos and the like. N.B. to self: learn to proofread or not type when tired.