I’ve Traveled a Thousand Miles

I’ve traveled a thousand miles today,

Maybe ten thousand miles,

I went all the way from the most mundane,

The most insignificant tasks,

That were urgent, and pressing and weighty

And demanding, and of the utmost consequence

To events that transcend both time and space

And breath and life

And death and resurrection

I went all the way from trying to hang

Sheetrock in a building

And organize a crew of people

To make sure that it looked nice,

To the passing away of dear friends and loved ones,

And I felt that it was not so much that it was sad,

But that it was just a lot to give

In such a short time

Something that you’ve established

In sixty years

Twenty thousand days

Half a million hours

Thirty million minutes

Of care and thought

Of encouragement and touching

And uplifting

And solving problems

And you have to give it in just minutes

And days

To give away a child

Or a husband or wife

A precious loved one or friend

It is such a lot to give in such a short time

And it brings into question

The value and veracity

Of all those other things that we do

Or speak

Or say

That we put so much importance on

The charges at the checkout stand

The bargains

The debts

The financial victories and gain

So shallow

And useless

And vain