Storytellers Poetry Contest Winner: As Pilgrims (3rd Place)
by Kristine Amundrud
THE STORY BEHIND THE POEM:
“As Pilgrims” was written from a very tender place, while still in the wake of moving overseas. Having just embarked on a grand new adventure, it felt jarring to land in a valley. Grief shows up at inopportune times, disrupting the climb. We tend to think that our problems remain tied to a place, but there are mountains that we carry within us. It is through these journeys that true spiritual transformation takes place. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” “As Pilgrims” is for the dear heart who wanted a different mountain, for the fellow sojourner learning how to submit to God’s reign, and for the believer who trusts that fullness of joy is just beyond the tree line.
AS PILGRIMS
We bear the bones of burdens,
lie on lonely basecamp floors.
Dead of night—wail frayed petitions,
believing we deserve much more.
Tirelessly, we tramp toward Holy
Salve—sapped callus of precious time.
Traversing the same switchback terrain,
we search for reason or sheer rhyme.
Yearn for wild caper of calling. All the while,
we curse the crime of malaise. Cling to
control—the demons we know,
throats throb beneath
sorrow’s rays.
As pilgrims, we romanticize the summit.
Vast vistas vie for fresh ground.
There’s pushback from lungs,
each rung a lament. Dear
Sojourner, you are
a hero unsung.
But I am no mountaineer…
A paltry pilgrim, I’ve sorely begged:
Move this mountain or move me!
Part stubborn stone within my chest,
as you parted the crimson sea!
The scree in me screams—
Turn back! Give up!
But the mountain I’ve known frowned with
gravel in its teeth. Ground grit into
common. Scrambled sorrow
heedless heath. No easy
ridge leads back to
false familiar
chains…
And so, as pilgrims, we press forward
with courage. With stone removed
from our chest, brought low
in pursuit of great heights.
With each step, new
flesh overturns our
former death.
KRISTINE AMUNDRUD
Kristine Amundrud is a Canadian poet of faith living in Northland, New Zealand. She finds joy in dreaming alongside her husband and their three children. Inspired by nature and the healing power of storytelling, Kristine endeavors to evoke emotions in the reader. She also loves friendships that go beyond the surface.
Connect with her on Substack @kristineamundrud or Instagram @kamundrud.