A Stranger Travelled I have travelled and I have seen But who now bears witness To where I have been? For we all tread softly On our journey in life Our footprints soon erased Like a forgotten dream Or ghosts that pass Through lands distant far One moment illuminated The briefest star Which shines fleeting In the eyes of strangers met Then extinguished upon leaving As you had never travelled there Yet, the evidence is present In wind and dust and river flow In leaves that fall and melting snows In the clouds that gentle shade And the sun shielded In verdant glade In the endless rains that glisten And the birds that quiet listened As you walked, a stranger Welcomed as a friend In far forgotten places On days you thought Would never end. _________________________________ To travel is a privilege. To spend brief time in other lands, amongst people who welcome the stranger with generous heart and permanent smiles is to create everlasting memories for the traveller. But what of our presence do we leave behind in those distant lands? We are enriched, but do we enrich our fellow man with our visit? Travel should not be about our self gratification. It should be an enrichment of the soul from every chance meeting, exchange and interaction. Let those we meet and leave again, remember with fondness the stranger, the traveller.
