A Wandering Deep

From my book Wings Upon the Unseen Gust

I heard the rumble of the train
From far across the frozen lake
The ice rebounding a refrain
From every rattle it would make

I saw the long line of its cars
Descending down out of the hills
to wend its way beneath the stars
Toward the lake the valley fills

It crossed the bridge that spanned the deep
And continuing on it went
While the world lay still asleep
On its errands it was bent

And I wondered where all it would go
In its travels across this land
What places would it come to know?
Even the seashore’s shining strand?

O forth to go adventuring!
Abroad to seek the journey’s thrills!
A walking stick in hand to swing
And raise the dust of distant hills

And under stars to make my bed
Beside a campfire burning bright
On fragrant boughs to lay my head
And dream all through the night

But what then of the little face
Of the one who waits for me at home
For the one that no one could replace
If his father set out to roam?

And think of what I’ve come to know
Through life beside my own hearth fire
Of love and joy and how they grow
In yielding up our own desire

And embracing an adventure
I never knew that I would find
Grander than the road’s indenture
Beyond the borders maps have lined

For there is a wandering afar
Adn there’s a wandering that’s deep
That steers a course set by the star
Of the promises we keep

It is the journey of the heart
That leads into this mystery
That is love, and has its start
Where our own sacrifice will be

So I will stay where duties bind
And tend this task that’s given me
And walk this road so I might find
Where leads this mystery

And let the train go where it will
Through this world that lies asleep
For I will keep to love’s path still
Wandering on into the deep