[Camino Poem No. 28] Psalm 103

This is the 28th of 42 posts about the poems which carried me along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in Aug-Sep 2016. On this (the 28th day), I walked 46km from Camponaraya to Linares. 

Today, I parted ways with my forty-eight-hour walking companion. I waved goodbye to her in Villafranca, at around midday. Ahead lay 25km of steady climbing, as the path wound its way up and through a mountain pass. I planned to do maybe half of it, but somehow just kept on.

At 5pm, I stopped to meditate in a church. When I returned to the path, it was deserted. I continued, alone. Alone with the mountains. Alone, with the setting sun. Behind me was all purple haze and distant peaks. Below, the darkening fields. It was The Interim Time. I rounded a bend, and fell to my knees at the sight of the sun, massive and orange, infinite in its passing.


Through it all, a deep, wild happiness.

When I arrived at O'Cebreiro, I found that the pilgrim hostel was full. It was now 9pm and dark, and a thick fog was descending. I tried every private hotel in the village - nothing. With the help of an Italian friend (serendipitously re-met), I learned that there was another hostel with space in the next town. It was 3km away, and I had thirty minutes to get there before it closed.

Flying down the mountain, still joy-drunk, I arrived just in time. Realized I hadn't eaten since midday. Nelson from Hong Kong shared his packet of muffins with me, and picked this poem.


Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;

    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins

    and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit

    and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD works righteousness

    and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,

    his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

    slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

    nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

    or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,

    so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,

    he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,

    they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

    and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

    the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,

    and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 with those who keep his covenant

    and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,

    and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,

    you mighty ones who do his bidding,

    who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,

    you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works

    everywhere in his dominion.

    Praise the LORD, my soul.