Hullo again I am Patrick O'Shea

[Patrick O'Shea]

When I walked from Estella to Los Arcos on 25 April 2019, had to write the following thoughts:

"Dancing past the rape fields, all gloriously yellow,
Joining the wind in blowing through wheat fields,
Estella to Los Arcos on a glorious day,
Sun always there, and not rain despite threats,
Bicycles now and then passing on their own Camino,
Bushes full of pink flowers glowing in the sun,
Poppies warmly red all along the sides of the paths,
Lines of bodies wearing backpacks before and after me,
Smiles lightning the load of everyone's backpack,
Glorious silence, with no loneliness involved,
Time to capture the beauty in one's mind and soul
Like Simon Reeves said in his recent book title
One step at a time, leading to where you want to be"
Patrick O'Shea

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

I have written some more things on the way, so can share my thoughts about Los Arcos to Logrono on 26 April 2019
"Los Arcos to Logrono, with some concern about the way,
The distance to be measured with the blowing wheat fields,
The rocky slopes gathering the walkers into bending,
Bending the knees in full submission to the way and the day,
Smiles along the way gathering those into a communion,
Of like minded spirits, only trying to reach their goal.

White snow coolly covering an unknown peak from eyes,
That strain to understand where it is, and why it is,
Purple irises gathered together shine from within a few gardens,
And pink covered bushes reach out again to the soul,
Then down into valleys missing the expected water,
And up into sections overlooking perfectly planted vineyards,
Odd worms crossing the paths on their own Camino,
With the only danger the great foot of a Pelegrino.

Companionship of strangers to very open to each other,
Seemingly no barriers in the consummation of understanding,
Grace mixed with gratefulness within the sharing,
The heart bouncing from the kindness of shared humanity,
Another step along the way of a life to be lived,
Even without one who would have so enjoyed the way.
Patrick O'Shea
26 April 2019 (writing date)

 

[susanawee]

I have written some more things on the way, so can share my thoughts about Los Arcos to Logrono on 26 April 2019
"Los Arcos to Logrono, with some concern about the way,
The distance to be measured with the blowing wheat fields,
The rocky slopes gathering the walkers into bending,
Bending the knees in full submission to the way and the day,
Smiles along the way gathering those into a communion,
Of like minded spirits, only trying to reach their goal.

White snow coolly covering an unknown peak from eyes,
That strain to understand where it is, and why it is,
Purple irises gathered together shine from within a few gardens,
And pink covered bushes reach out again to the soul,
Then down into valleys missing the expected water,
And up into sections overlooking perfectly planted vineyards,
Odd worms crossing the paths on their own Camino,
With the only danger the great foot of a Pelegrino.

Companionship of strangers to very open to each other,
Seemingly no barriers in the consummation of understanding,
Grace mixed with gratefulness within the sharing,
The heart bouncing from the kindness of shared humanity,
Another step along the way of a life to be lived,
Even without one who would have so enjoyed the way.
Patrick O'Shea
26 April 2019 (writing date)

Beautiful writing Patrick O'Shea, please keep it up and keep sharing with us.

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Beautiful writing Patrick O'Shea, please keep it up and keep sharing with us.

Thanks to you susanawee and will keep sharing

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

I was lucky enough to walk Astorga to Rabanal del Camino on 12 May, 2019, and would like to share my thoughts on that day.
"Coming into Rabanal with flowers in the edges of dry wall and lovely stone,
There is a warm feeling inside, nothing in any way of being alone,
Butterflies skipping along the opened edges of the eyes,
Birds spinning and dancing wonderfully in the Caribbean blue skies.

Green grass contrasting so well with a dry gray brown palapa roof,
People doing yoga exercises, or just sitting, and no one just aloof,
Orange marigolds, then blue iris, and further on a stately white flower,
A sense of peace, the day covers one like a blanket in a bower.

Colored clothes on the lines, moving like Camino walkers walking in rhyme,
A rhyme of life which so easily loses one in a sense of perpetual time,
There is here only peace, a great step back to when we could truly see,
See the self that is true, and that is true to the one that is you and me.

Residual of a winters snow which is still touching the distant peaks begins to run,
Memories of a not so long ago and cooler life, is now melting in springtime sun,
Pines standing proudly and flecked with the soft green of new growth and life,
As the warm sun caresses the body, and gently washes away and sense of strife.

Patrick O'Shea
12 May 2019 (date written)

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

The walk from Rabanal del Camino to Molinaseca on 13 May 2019 created a thoughtful day, and hereby my thoughts on that day:

"Hard walk today, stones under the feet, crunching sound in the day,
The way goes up and up, and the struggling legs say it's okay,
Pines being reached in a short time, eyes pulled forward into the distance,
Thoughts get carried away from oneself, there is simply no resistance,
Ones heart of hearts gets lost in the wonderful landscape seen all around,
And as ever on the Camino, there is really so very little sound,
The heart leaps ahead, as ever seeking for the amazingly strange,
To find out what is possible, and on this Camino way, there is no range.

Heat pricks the senses, and there it seem so suddenly, is the iron cross,
And it is so hard to leave behind a pebble there, it is not simply dross,
The tears are caught not only on your cheeks, but on those of so many others,
And with the grace that exists in that place, there is no loss that really bothers,
Then down the savagely cutting and so rocky paths which are much like life,
Where the trust and care is needed, where one must be careful to avoid pain and strife,
Then later the head looks up into a beautiful hillside at the end of a street, all green and yellow,
And the visible half moon comes gliding peacefully overhead, just like a good fellow.

Patrick O'Shea
13 May 2019 (date written)

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Lovely, Patrick! You are very gifted writer, having a way with words in expressing your thoughts in such a creative and unique way.

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Lovely, Patrick! You are very gifted writer, having a way with words in expressing your thoughts in such a creative and unique way.

Thanks for your kind words, much appreciated. I cannot but say that the Camino is the creator and I only try to translate from it.

Patrick

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

These were my thoughts from Triacastela to Sarria on 17 May, so had written the following:

"This is the first day the rain has really come out of the heavens to play,
Slipping and sliding along the tracks, covered pilgrims negotiate the way,
Care much needed on the steep descents over the unforgiving stone,
Down the deep descents which are now damply covered with water,
Like lambs we all go down the tracks hoping we will not be the slaughter,
Some race down as if there is some new racetrack built on the way,
Some descend with due care, determined to survive another day.

Fields of yellow with blue sky overhead, behind barbed wire which can blind,
A sharp edge in all our lives, which can be softened by what you can find
When the eyes wander through the landscapes passed in another day,
When you do not really even seek, but still manage to find the lovely way,
A laugh captures the ethos of the dawn that so many may miss seeing,
The colors that grow in the soft silence within the heart of our being.

The soft pace of a life, perhaps forgotten for a while, simply and easily re-growing
And the words begin to flow again, and reflect the joy in the new knowing."

Patrick O'Shea
17 May 2019 (date written)

 

[donnasanjuan]

No words can explain all of the emotion I felt reading this. Simply beautiful and true.

 

[John Manshreck]

Great writing for a beautiful day. Thanks for this.

 

[John Manshreck]

Fantastic. Thanks for this.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I love your writing/poems! You are a gifted writer...keep them coming!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Amen! Wow and wow...need I say more!

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Some have indicated that perhaps I should put a number of thoughts in one post. So here are a few:

Logrono to Najera on 27 April 2019

Chocolate colored earth warmly embracing the sacred vines of Rioja,
A lovely bed to wrap up all future dreams later woven in wine,
Hills looming large at a distance looking down through all the years,
That in their very being know the secrets of this special land.

Listening to the shoots of the vines quietly gathering their strength,
Sun fed with the radiantly powerful light, and rain fed with the water,
Grown to delicious grapes which capture the eyes in maturity,
And welcome the future wedding, and the joy of a daughter.

Vines stretching out in seemingly perfect rows to the hills and horizon,
Carrying the watchers' eyes along their stunningly solitary perfection.
Patrick O'Shea
27 April 2019 (date written)

Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado on 29 April 2019

Green blankets covering the land and warming the spirit,
With the yellow rape, like pillowcases spread over the green bed,
Spiders gathered in irrigation ditches waiting for their breakfast,
Pilgrims covered in rainbow colors winding through the day,
Little birds streaked with yellow on their bodies, capturing the heart,
Streaks of cloud marking their presence in the azure blue sky.

Darkness in the mind is not at all necessary in such vibrant beauty,
It becomes something that can blow away like wind through wheat,
The only loss to the being is that of their own self-consciousness,
As another small rock glides away from the walker's boot,
A mother and daughter from New Zealand seen flowing strongly along,
Pleasure between the two and the way of their existence palpable.
Patrick O'Shea
29 April 2019 (date written)

 

[Alsacia]

I was lucky enough to walk Astorga to Rabanal del Camino on 12 May, 2019, and would like to share my thoughts on that day.
"Coming into Rabanal with flowers in the edges of dry wall and lovely stone,
There is a warm feeling inside, nothing in any way of being alone,
Butterflies skipping along the opened edges of the eyes,
Birds spinning and dancing wonderfully in the Caribbean blue skies.

Green grass contrasting so well with a dry gray brown palapa roof,
People doing yoga exercises, or just sitting, and no one just aloof,
Orange marigolds, then blue iris, and further on a stately white flower,
A sense of peace, the day covers one like a blanket in a bower.

Colored clothes on the lines, moving like Camino walkers walking in rhyme,
A rhyme of life which so easily loses one in a sense of perpetual time,
There is here only peace, a great step back to when we could truly see,
See the self that is true, and that is true to the one that is you and me.

Residual of a winters snow which is still touching the distant peaks begins to run,
Memories of a not so long ago and cooler life, is now melting in springtime sun,
Pines standing proudly and flecked with the soft green of new growth and life,
As the warm sun caresses the body, and gently washes away and sense of strife.

Patrick O'Shea
12 May 2019 (date written)

Wow! It looks so beautiful! I can’t wait to be there to experience all this. Thank you for sharing your Camino that way.

 

[Airdog]

I like the picture you painted looking forward to it

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

I do hope I am now going to post under the correct thread, or at least I am attempting to: I will post 4 of my thoughts from varied days, and then possibly in the next days the last 3 I want to share. I apologize to all for incorrectly using the thread system, and appreciate the kindness of bringing my attention to this. I would attach files, but for some reason they will not, so I will simply type them as follows:

Najera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada on 28 April 2019

Snow moving visually to the left now, but we are not left out of the scene,
Hills blooming rapeseed yellow capture with their patches the open eyes,
Vineyards now share the open space with some rushes and reeds,
Birds sing to you at full and glorious volume along the rocky way,
Nesting birds playing at escorting you away down the path, then dashing back,
So that their young hidden away in the fields can live to see another day.

Small rocks heard and felt under the willing feet of the many walkers,
Vast blue sky filling the space between all your hopes and dreams,
Clarity of thought not obscured by any drifting random clouds,
Many voices heard reflecting and echoing the days and paths shared,
The lovely plane trees waiting patiently by many of the restaurants,
To gradually become the shade bearers their form will give later in the year.
Patrick O'Shea

Castrojeriz to Fromista on 4 May 2019

Cold morning quickly warmed by those climbing up to Alto de Mostelares,
Slow legs gathering the day into walker's hearts warmed by the vistas,
Lines of Peregrinos' once again plodding along between the fields of wheat,
Plants growing all around, earth being turned, butterflies dancing along,
Hawks majestically hanging in the sky before diving down for their lunch,
Bright blue cornflowers catching the eyes with beauty, when they are seen,
Rocks of all sizes patiently waiting to trip any of the tired wanderers,
As some mentally sing the appropriate rhyme, it's simply one step at a time.
Patrick O'Shea

Leon to Villar de Mazarife on 10 May 2019

Sunlight streaming down into the albergue courtyard in Villar de Mazarife,
A lady was going to open the local church, so asked if she was a priest,
The blue overhead flecked with fingers of stretched cirrus clouds,
A palm tree in a tub, a silent companion to the travelling crowds.

Tucked away in a wall, a lovely calm figure of some saint,
Almost unnoticed, quietly lit by the sun and shade, colored in gray paint,
Beaded curtains swinging slightly, hiding the door leading to habitations,
Other people quietly talking, reading, or mentally in peregrinations.

Three storks resting in their nests, high above the small church,
Partners for life, not like so many that seem to leave others in the lurch,
They fly for food, and then return once again gracefully to their young,
And seeing their grace in flight, is like hearing a beautiful song.
Patrick O'Shea

Villafranca del Bierzo to Las Herrerias on 15 May 2019

Walking with the constant sound of water, contentedly washed down the road,
Memories floating so very gently with the water sound, they are no heavy load,
Burbling, crashing, splashing, rushing along, or just quietly there to capture the eye,
A day of peace hidden away in some heat of the sun, the water happily going by.

Then to go down into a valley of such verdant green, where one could be content,
Nothing but beauty to see, calm and tranquility reflected, whatever your bent,
Sitting back and laughing fully from the belly with other travelers on their own way,
Joy in the deep sense of contented being, in the sharing, and simply in the day.
Patrick O'Shea

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Hullo on Friday from Patrick O'Shea, it appears I am now threading my way through the system a bit better. So now want to share my thoughts on 20 May as follows:

Palas de Rei to Arzua on 20 May 2019

Another way, the last really long way, on it goes shifting and turning,
Ups and downs, downs and ups, once again the legs start burning,
Now going through a place that in a short flash is old England,
There is not a place in the world, where visions are so at hand,
Turn another corner, and the road turns with your spinning mind,
The impossibility and delight in what new discoveries you may find.

No dark edges to discolor the clear understanding or any thought,
No price that can be paid, for something that cannot be bought,
When one's legs start to wander again along the many paths unknown,
And the day allows you to be, to really be, and not be alone,
The passing over the rocks is not any form of Camino daily torment,
But a reminder to pay attention to everything, no matter your usual bent.

Glasses are raised in the restaurant where so many walkers come to dine,
Course of a menu del dia filled in again with laughter and a contented time,
There is nothing more here but legs that have walked again another day,
And there are no real concerns, no real worries, only another bill to pay,
All the hearts that beat together, once more off the tracks and street,
As the palpable joy in those around is magic, and so very hard to beat.

Patrick O'Shea

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Hullo all, Patrick O'Shea again, with the penultimate thought of the day from the 21st of May on my way from Arzua to Pedrouzo

The sails of the day flap loosely around you as you walk along,
As companions of days, small birds, enthrall you with their lilting song,
Small flowers peek their delicate heads out from among the green,
As all the visions are enhanced by the beauty of a simple meadow scene.

The craft you have sailed in for so many shared and wondrous years,
Still carries you uncomplainingly along despite any joys or tears,
Rich blood flows through the covering decking all of you in time,
So that the legs can still carry you in a reasonably straight line.

Whispers of wind carry to the nostrils the fine rich pungency of earth,
And in the days wandering, or beautiful varied flowers there was no dearth,
Quiet fall like a gentle blanket for the spirit on the trails through the woods,
Draping all who pass by with still reflections, like pacing monks in hoods.

Quiet comes between the laughter, minds thinking over the days,
Crunching like the gravel underfoot, how far the travel these ways,
For some the travel made over the years, bit by bit, time by time,
To be carried by the sails of their days into their own special rhyme.

Patrick O'Shea
21 May 2019 (date written)

 

[Patrick O'Shea]

Patrick O'Shea for the last time for now, I will share my thoughts of my last day on the Camino from Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela on 22 May 2019, and a thought on the Camino Frances from yesterday. To all who I met on the way, thanks for your gift of humanity, the laughter and the sharing.

Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela on 22 May 2019

"The last steps must begin in the cool and quiet of the morning,
Those walkers rising to the realization of the final days dawning,
Slowly the legs will leave the temporary dreaming housing,
As the feet move down the streets, and sound of stick begin again to ring.

A trickle at the start of the so long ago Camino dreamers day,
Will swell into a moving flood as more join along the way,
With the ghosts of past pilgrims jostling for their own space,
No arguments here, only camaraderie on a journey, never a race.

Colors of today like rainbows flowing along through the day,
Colors of the past, simple brown was all those pilgrims could pay,
Yet all walk along, for a sister or a brother, a lost lover, or a son,
And walk together under the sky, under the strong Spanish sun.

Some will now walk lighter, free from any excess dross,
Some will now also walk light, freer from the pain of a loss,
With garlanded memories of wildflowers tangled in their hair,
They now can start to see the importance of why they care.

Sore legs, and strange beds, most blistered at some point on the ways,
There has been understanding and laughter shared through the days,
The present human wave, the thousands of legs, will enter together,
Into the vaunted city of dreams, of San Tiago de Compostela."

Patrick O'Shea
22 May 2019 (date written)

Thoughts on the Camino Frances

"How does one begin to fully articulate the freedom of the Camino, the realized chance once again in life to simply walk away from all the stress and strain,
To do nothing else but put one foot in front of another, and carry on through the day, with perhaps the only thing that can bother being possibly a bit of leg pain,
To then not be involved with all the politics, news, hatreds, horrors, power struggles, absurd politicians, empty and soulless work places, and other useless distractions,
And only hold discussions with yourself over the beauty you are seeing, the birds that are singing, the tiny flowers that catch the eye, the large rocks your foot will shun,
To see someone on the way and with heart full of joy, greet them openly with a "Buen Camino" and to hear it in return, or perhaps a "muchas gracias" to ease the way,
To see the variety of so many others of all ages, and places, all with a will to do what you are also doing, to know that they are also having their wanted Camino on their day.

There is a rediscovery of who one is inside, a loss of consciousness of who one could be, because one is simply being who they are in finally being there,
There is an understanding that seems to pervade the walkers, and acceptance of the possibility of the person who is there, and openness that allows all to care,
Judgements are suspended, not merely amended, because the simple truth is that no one wants to judge the other, it is not relevant in Camino time,
There hearing of so many stories that so many are willing to share, makes one so much more open to those who walk the same path, who walk with you in rhyme,
To hear open honest laughter between the people who were strangers before this road was started upon, and who now can see the friends they have become,
A heart can leap into the world of the Camino, because it is so unique in what it is, there is nothing that can be compared, it is an awareness of loss and being that can simply stun."

Patrick O'Shea
08 June 2109