by Bill Wolak
On Pilgrimage
One morning, crossing the orchard
I found a crow feather in deep grass,
a shimmering inky blue-blackness.
Picking it up, I saw a shiny trail
of dried slime meandering across
its span, clear evidence a snail had
lingered there. Immediately my heart
lifted with a thought, one can always
dream of flight, and I crouched low
between two apple trees, building
the image of a wee snail straining
their monopod belly skyward
to swoop through humid June air.
I carried the feather home, pleased
to have sprung a vision from this
odd animal rendezvous. But later on,
I reconsidered: who am I to frame
the dreams of one so compact as this
snail? It’s possible they were thrilled
enough just to traverse the strange
and silken ridges of this feather,
an adventure of a lifetime in itself.
Would a snail have any interest
in my own striding human travels?
Who knows? A crow might dream
of shelter to be carried everywhere,
and I of a pilgrimage, meandering
and purposeless, emptied of desire.
Robbie Gamble (he/him) is the author of the chapbook A Can of Pinto Beans (Lily Poetry Review Press, 2022). His poems have appeared in Poet Lore, Post Road, Salamander, The Sun and The Worcester Review. He is the poetry editor for Solstice Literary Magazine, and he divides his time between Boston and Vermont. http://www.robbiegamble.com.
Bill Wolak is a poet, collage artist, and photographer who has just published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages have appeared as cover art for such magazines as Phoebe, Harbinger Asylum, Baldhip Magazine, and Barfly Poetry Magazine.