And into the black
The wanderer goes
Farther
Farther still

Back to the lonesome dreams
To the memories of low esteem

For the wanderer
Returning home
Is never easy

Dust covered boots
And worn ragged cape
Contain him

His life

Who he is
Amounts not to where he has been
Or what he has seen
But to the redemption
Of all that has come before
To
Every desperate step
Every windswept
Weather worn scar



Footfall
By footfall
Straining muscle
And disenchanted breath
The wanderer comes upon
Ever so slowly
The cancer of his heart
The rot of his bones
The disease of his skin





Despite the distance  
The salvation of time
As if like a mountain side
Or deep jagged canyon bluffs
Shaped by ceaseless wind
And pounding rain

The wanderer
Wears away