The Pilgrim

I'd like to share a poem with you. It's actually a song, written and sung by Kris Kristofferson, called "The Pilgrim Chapter 33". I consider it to be the story of my father's life, and in some ways, the story of my own.



The Pilgrim, Chapter 33



See him wasted on the sidewalk
In his jacket and his jeans
Wearing yesterday's misfortune like a smile,
Once he had a future full of money, love and dreams
Which he spent like it was going out of style,
But he keeps right on a' changin'
For the better or the worse
Searchin' for a shrine he's never found,
Never knowing if believing
Is a blessing or a curse
Or if the going up was worth the coming down...

He's a poet, and he's a picker,
He's a prophet, and he's a pusher,
He's a pilgrim and a preacher,
And a problem when he's stoned,
He's a walking contradiction,
Partly truth, and partly fiction,
Taking every wrong direction
On his lonely way back home...

He has tasted good and evil
In your bedrooms and your bars,
And he traded in tomorrow for today,
Running from his devils, Lord,
And reaching for the stars,
Losing all he loved along the way,
But if this world keeps right on turning,
For the better or the worse,
And all he ever gets is older and around,
From the rockin' of the cradle to the rollin' of the hearse,
The goin' up was worth the comin' down...

He's a poet, and he's a picker,
He's a prophet, and he's a pusher,
He's a pilgrim and a preacher,
And a problem when he's stoned,
He's a walking contradiction,
Partly truth, and partly fiction,
Taking every wrong direction
On his lonely way back home...

There's a lot of wrong directions on that lonely way back home...


The Grimm One may be scarce on here for a little while...lots of sudden changes in life. You will all be in my thoughts, and in my heart, until I return.

6:17 a.m. - 2012-01-29