This is a lovely poem which I read this morning during our “Inspiration in the Cloud” public Zoom call. It speaks so well to the notion that we are all connected and we are all ONE! Please join us again next Thursday at 1100 EST – you can register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/v5Asd-6hqDIpxrPnbdpFmmRkEgk3wmTkvg
The Calf-Path
Samuel Walter Foss – 1895
I.
One day through the primeval wood
A calf walked home as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And I infer the calf is dead.
II.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day,
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bell-wether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bell-wethers always do.
And from that day, o’er hill and glade.
Through those old woods a path was made.
III.
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged, and turned, and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath,
Because ‘twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed—do not laugh—
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.
IV.
This forest path became a lane,
that bent and turned and turned again;
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.
V.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The road became a village street;
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare.
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half,
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
VI.
Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed the zigzag calf about
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A Hundred thousand men were led,
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They followed still his crooked way,
And lost one hundred years a day;
For thus such reverence is lent,
To well established precedent.
VII.
A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun,
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.
They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move.
But how the wise old wood gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf.
Ah, many things this tale might teach—
But I am not ordained to preach.
Amazing story, so much truth.
Its how we get in a rut isn’t it Eileen?
The story is very very good. A lesson .
A sweet poem ….
Stop. Review. Listen to your soul.
To thine own self be true.
Follow not the trails of calves and men.
Your future is unique to you.
Stand firm against the call to conform.
Just because that is the norm.
You are here to be all you can.
Be not held back by any man.
When all around you are lost and in rage.
Stop. Review. Listen to your heart.
Read what is written on its page.
That tells you where to start.
This is your time to
live with courage and full intent.
You were heaven sent
to play your role upon this stage and
share your gifts and speak your truth
in spite of any plague.
Show the way to the brighter future we want today.
Follow not the trails of calves and men for
life will support you all the way.
By Christopher Evatt 29.4.2020
Christopher, you have a great talent for poetry – it’s beautiful! Thank you!
Impactful, inspiring, reflective and truth telling. We are connected, Connection is everywhere, yet we, humans, forget.
So right, Carol. We are ONE! (https://secretan.com/staging/books-dvds/one-the-art-and-science-of-leadership/)
A “calf path” I understand well are the ramp theories attributed to Great Pyramid construction where professionals protect their narrative.
Have you heard of the “four lobe pinion pulley”?
Probably not, because it’s not on any “calf path”.
Read Bernie Riley’s letter (page 2) …
https://www.haitheory.com/Reviews.html
Now I understand the meaning of a “calf path”.
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing your interesting, and completely plausible theory.