Butterflies
You
two
dart and dash
down the road
before
me
swerve and flitter
cross and alight
four
wings
powdery
like velvet dust
You
two
lean and lead
always ahead
of
me
catching and falling
lifting and lingering
two
arrows
yellow
like markers on the road
You
two
silent and soft
but resonant
with
us
showing and shining
lighting and pointing
we
two
listening
no longer lost
~ Cheryl Murfin, on the Camino de Santiago
From Camino Journal, October 2018
Late in the morning I found that I was being led down the road by a rainbow of butterflies -- tiny and blue, yellow, white, pink and violet.
Eventually there were just two beside me, two yellow butterflies fluttering on my left. I swear they looked to me like tiny yellow arrows . . . and they were definitely headed in the direction of Santiago.
The two yellow insects flew beside me for quite some time, leap-flying one in front of the other and so on, circling my legs, flittering out in front of me, coming back. It must have been a half mile at least that they stayed and I felt the need to thank them for their help when they finally moved off in another direction and of sight.
Just then Joe caught up to me. And when he did I felt that the butterflies were indeed telling me something, showing me something important about the road ahead of us.
We are on this road together, whether this is how I first envisioned my Camino and no matter what either of us is going through. I am here, present, walking this long path with Joe and as a witness for him. I have to believe doing so will heal and change us both independently and together.
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