Fall in love with a traveler.
Fall in love with a wild, unharnessed, vagabond spirit,
passing through this place and time only briefly.

Don’t let the inevitable parting of ways hold you back.
If anything, let it fuel your love for him.
Let the ticking clock take on its priceless value
and slip deeply into every passing moment.

Fall in love with a traveler.
He has seen a lot and learned a lot.
He has trod on so many soils in this lifetime.
He has met many people from many walks of life.

Let him teach you.

Let him rock your foundation.
Let him challenge you to your core.
Let him hold up that mirror to you, showing you yourself.
Let him push you to become it.

Understand that every hard word and challenging conversation
is simply him trying to draw you into the light.
Don’t throw up your defenses.
He has come into your world so briefly to teach you these lessons.
Be receptive to what he has to offer.

He’s not from here.
He’s not from your homeland.
He is simply passing through.
He may love it; he may not—but he will love you.
And he loves easily, in spite of always being on the road.

Fall in love with a traveler
for he knows how to love with no expectations.
It is a pure and raw and valued connection.

And when he leaves,
when he shoulders his backpack and turns to the horizon,
love him for all he gave you in that fleeting time.

When you remember him, do so with fondness and a tender heart.
And gratitude for your time shared.
Don’t resent his wandering feet which drew him away from you.

And remember his hands and eyes and mouth and shoulders.
Know they are the same and still out there,
attached to those wandering feet.

~

Relephant: 

To Love A Girl Who Wanders.

~

Author: Skye Mallac
Image: Karl Fredrickson/Unsplash
Editor: Nicole Cameron
Copy Editor: Sara Kärpänen