It is time for all the heroes to go home <br />if they have any, time for all of us common ones <br />to locate ourselves by the real things <br />we live by. <br /> <br />Far to the north, or indeed in any direction, <br />strange mountains and creatures have always lurked- <br />elves, goblins, trolls, and spiders:-we <br />encounter them in dread and wonder, <br /> <br />But once we have tasted far streams, touched the gold, <br />found some limit beyond the waterfall, <br />a season changes, and we come back, changed <br />but safe, quiet, grateful. <br /> <br />Suppose an insane wind holds all the hills <br />while strange beliefs whine at the traveler's ears, <br />we ordinary beings can cling to the earth and love <br />where we are, sturdy for common things.<br /><br />William Stafford<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/allegiances-2/
