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Open Poetry #46
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martiniat8
Senior Member
since 2003-06-21
Posts 897
Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic

0 posted 2010-02-19 03:32 PM



I've got these postcards
from the edge of the west
all blank
waiting to be filled...

looking across the Bosphorus
twinkling in the distance
a million colors dancing on the water
in the wake, the waves, of ferry going merchants

but what do I say?
How exhausted I am?
How I've been travelling 4 weeks
barely a break

just a suitcase
a backpack
walking stick
and boots

oh the boots deserve a book
on where they've tread
rough terrain
mountains hills rivers valleys and the Marmara Sea

and oh the stomach
what it has digested
exotic cuisines
spices from the North Sea, to the Far East

the cry of the fishmonger
the barker
the fisherman
alms for the love of Allah

but those...

those few...
my friends
my family...

what do I tell them?

I've got so little in common with anyone anymore
set off on a journey
with no particular destination
no home to return to

just a stack of belongings
tucked away somewhere
on the outskirts of Dallas
in a storage bin

but then again,
what do I tell them?
those kin, my friends...

Wish you were here~

"the author, the artist, is never more than 50% of the piece. The audience, AH, now there is the key. Never more, nor less, than 50% of me."

© Copyright 2010 Kenneth Bradley Smith - All Rights Reserved
Margherita
Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236
Eternity
1 posted 2010-02-19 05:25 PM


Dear Brad, you convey here so well the moment of melancholy that is common to every traveler ... the longing for home and the closeness of friends, despite the great excitement of all the discoveries you made while on the move.

May your boots follow your heart.

Well done.

Love,
Margherita

2islander2
Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825
by the sea
2 posted 2010-02-20 03:12 AM


thanks for the impression of voyage, when we are far from beloved ones, we miss them, travales are so signifiant about the values of people and their souls, I have travelled until the bosphorus too and the sould here are also signifiant and deep that we always learn about ourselves...

thanks for the beautiful poem.

yann

martiniat8
Senior Member
since 2003-06-21
Posts 897
Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic
3 posted 2010-02-20 12:14 PM


Elegant word, Yann and so true. I don't suppose you know anyone in France that needs an English teacher from America that wants to work in France but needs a work Visa. I am going to Prague for my TESOL certification and will be done April 16th and looking for work.

Margherita, thanks for the kind words. As a matter of fact my boots got drenched by the Marmara Sea today as I was standing on the bow of the boat when a wave crashed over me nearly sweeping me overboard. Now its a race back to Prague.

Alison
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!
4 posted 2010-02-26 10:34 PM


This reminds me of my sister who travels a lot through China and Thailand.  Sometimes she just sends my Mother a postcard with love and her name.  It's not the message as much as knowing the person is safe and thinking of that person back home.  I guess that's how I see this poem - which I enjoyed very much.  I am keeping it.

Alison

passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
5 posted 2010-02-27 12:57 PM


I know how it feels

nice ending line


Earl Brinkman
Senior Member
since 2010-03-03
Posts 1183
Osaka, Japan
6 posted 2010-03-04 04:50 PM


I found this quite clever and fun to read.
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