Can you understand being alone so long you would go out in the middle of the night and put a bucket into the well so you could feel something down there tug at the other end of the rope?
Jack Gilbert in Refusing Heaven
RESPONSE (for a loved one who wandered too far)
Old age is like an abandoned valley where you have to venture out in the middle of the night to find a well to sink your bucket in search of someone to send it back. Don’t wander far. The well is closer than you imagine.
Spirituality Without Borders: Reflections on Spiritual Practice 