John Grey
Journey's End
The ending was as unexpected as the journey,
with all its surprise landscape, the unimagined
that, with every mile, became the amazing norm.
We’d long left the city behind, and then
the twisting coastline, the villages, the jungle
with its monkey and butterfly chandeliers.
We passed by the gorges, cruised the gap
through the mountains and, every now and then,
were waved along by border guards of fern and foliage.
Then it was contentment we came upon,
and cheerfulness, optimism, euphoria
and long, long stretches of peace of mind.
Everything around us was harmless and engaging,
curious and giving, sentient and sensitive,
and possible in our shared lifetime.
The ending was no ending at all.
There was no stopping us.
Routine became magnificent
Magnificence became routine.
