Peace Pilgrim

  Peace Pilgrim, Mildred Lisette Norman. 1908/81

Pilgrim sister, on the road 

To a nations heart

On a path to lasting peace 

Shod with runners lasting

A thousand miles or so. 

Pilgrim sister, bringing peace

Along the paths in sun

And dust across a dry land

Parched and thirsting for a tear

Of kindness and of love. 

Pilgrim sister, dressing simply 

Walking freely without a care

Sleeping oft  beneath the stars

Never begging just receiving

What decent people share. 

Pilgrim sister, seeing God

In every man you meet

Disarming every passer-by

With simple innocence 

An empty purse and a happy heart. 

Pilgrim sister you cross a land

That craves more peace 

More love and gentleness

To shed the skin of evening greed

To blossom in the morning. 

Pilgrim sister, thirty years

Of walking sea to sea

Pressed by a vow

Til war had ceased

You would sue for peace. 

Dressed in a tee shirt,

Proclaiming peace 

Your journey ended on the road

In nineteen eighty one

Your walk not finished

But your work was done. 

Born Mildred Lisette Norman in 1908 in New Jersey to a family of German immigrants, in 1953 she determined to devote her life to peace and took the name ‘peace pilgrim’ She took a vow to walk across the United States from sea to sea until peace came. She walked alone without possessions, never begging but accepting what food and shelter strangers might offer. Her message was simple. God lives in every person no matter how deeply buried. God shone in her and through her. Her tee shirt proclaimed she had walked 25,000 miles but in truth she had walked many many more. Her life and thoughts are available on www.peacepilgrim.org