Holiday Reflections: David Whyte’s Santiago

I am a big fan of David Whyte’s poetry. I love the way he crafts words into poems that land on my heart and stay there long after I’ve read them. I just recently came across this one, and it seemed the perfect reminder during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, that it is ourselves we ultimately seek.

sunscape

Santiago

The road seen, then not seen, the hillside

hiding then revealing the way you should take,

the road dropping away from you as if leaving you

to walk on thin air, then catching you, holding you up,

when you thought you would fall,

and the way forward always in the end

the way that you followed, the way that carried you

into your future, that brought you to this place,

no matter that it sometimes took your promise from you,

no matter that it had to break your heart along the way:

the sense of having walked from far inside yourself

out into the revelation, to have risked yourself

for something that seemed to stand both inside you

and far beyond you, that called you back

to the only road in the end you could follow, walking

as you did, in your rags of love and speaking in the voice

that by night became a prayer for safe arrival,

so that one day you realized that what you wanted

had already happened long ago and in the dwelling place

you had lived in before you began,

and that every step along the way, you had carried

the heart and the mind and the promise

that first set you off and drew you on and that you were

more marvelous in your simple wish to find a way

than the gilded roofs of any destination you could reach:

as if, all along, you had thought the end point might be a city

with golden towers, and cheering crowds,

and turning the corner at what you thought was at the end

of the road, you found just a simple reflection,

and a clear revelation beneath the face looking back

and beneath it another invitation, all in one glimpse:

like a person and a place you had sought forever,

like a broad field of freedom that beckoned you beyond;

like another life, and the road still stretching on.

 

David Whyte

from Pilgrim

With love,

-db

Who is Dianna Bonny?

Hi, my name is Dianna Bonny. It’s my mission to candidly share my journey with you. For me, it’s all about the healing: to create a radiant healing energy for others who have befallen a similar fate. Together, we can forge beautiful lives of belonging and connection. Thanks for joining me today! I look forward to hearing from you.

  2 comments for “Holiday Reflections: David Whyte’s Santiago

  1. December 22, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this poem Dianna. Brought tears of recognition as I read it. All this self growth, self discovery, seems to bring us back to what and where we’ve always been…love. What an interesting road we take to bring us back around to the truth that has always been. I really do love the journey. Thank you for making the journey more beautiful with the love you share in your blog.

    Sending you a huge wish of joy and love, shared and experienced, again and again this holiday season!

    • Dianna Bonny
      December 28, 2013 at 12:51 pm

      As always, thank you for sharing your beautiful encouragement and thoughts Karen. Wishing you much love and joy in this coming year. I so enjoy sharing the journey with you. xo

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *