Allegiances
It is time for all the heroes to go home
if they have any,
time for all of us common ones
to locate ourselves by the real things
we live by.
Far to the north,
or indeed in any direction,
strange mountains and creatures
have always lurked-
elves, goblins, trolls, and spiders:-
we encounter them in dread and wonder,
But once we have tasted far streams,
touched the gold,
found some limit beyond the waterfall,
a season changes, and we come back,
changed but safe, quiet, grateful.
Suppose an insane wind holds
all the hills
while strange beliefs whine
at the traveler's ears,
we ordinary beings can cling to the earth
and love where we are,
sturdy for common things.
William Stafford
Posted over on Poemhunter
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