Safe Travels, Thank You, Lord

I was able to pull my travel bag
off of it's hook in the back of my closet
this morning.
The first time since winter hit.

I decided that I was going to hitch
to the country
to my folk's house in the orchard.

It was time for our maple trees to be tapped
and there was work to be done.

A bus ride to the outskirts of the city
Lady luck was with me
I caught three rides
with little effort.
23 miles covered in the cars of strangers.

But alas
My journey was almost complete.
No strangers stopped
for the shivering traveler
in his trapper hat
walking alongside the road
of his childhood years.
3 miles covered on foot.

Clouds filled most of the sky
but a wind was coming from the west
"which is the best"
and a good sign of no precipitation to come
in the next 12 hours

The sun would burst through
every few minutes
and I would look up
long enough to warm my face

I was shouting Fall Out Boy lyrics
and enjoying scenery and sounds
that had become foreign to me.

Such as the squeak of my alice pack frame
every time I lift my left foot.

I miss the natural beauty of a backwoods landscape.
I miss the silence that a life in the country brings.

And as always
I began questioning
why it is so difficult
for us to JUST LIVE.
Without a need
for more
that we don't need.

Thank you, Lord,
For my safe travels.