Travelling
streaking through the night
the train came from the dark
with its passengers and cargo
coming from the north
where it’s going now,
I really couldn’t say –
but I’d gladly buy a ticket
just to get away –
imagining the sharp Turkish spices
that perfume the noisy suks or
bright painted prayer flags
adorning a village in Nepal
the Mermaid of Copenhagen
or the Blarney Stone of Eire –
then I think of others
who dream of coming here
just to see our mountains
and walk along our the lake –
isn’t it a marvel …
this all too human longing
to always be – somewhere else.
travelling
seeking greener fields
longin for
something new
as yet to be discovered
with each passing train
© G.s.k. ‘15
This poem is linked to: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s – B&P’s Shadorma and Beyond
Longing to be somewhere else–so true; we forget that we take ourselves with us to “wherever”, and that subconsciously we’re very tied to at least some familiar aspects of “back there” we left behind.
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Ah yes you are so correct here … some of my most favourite films are about this aspect of life … the most recent being Midnight in Paris …
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Midnight in Paris–I see that in the cable lineup, but haven’t watched it. Oddly, perhaps, I have the same thoughts when I speculate about being with a real spouse, as opposed to my Ghost-Love: it sounds lovely for a moment, and then I suspect I’d miss lots of things about being ALONE…I’ve so lost the art of making concessions 🙂
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Loved this to the core.. felt myself sailing through ……
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Wow … so happy it moved you! 🙂
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beautifully expressed …. i know the feeling … sigh ….
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Ah my dear, don’t we all.
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Ayup.
o.O
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Brava, cara…beautifully penned…could imagine all these places so far away I`ve yet to see…my great aunt kissed the Blarney stone…I think she liked the handsome man who had to hold her 😉
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LOL … good for your great aunt!
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As an American expat living in Scotland–a place other Americans dream of visiting–I dream of the places yet unseen. While my neighbors dream of going to Orlando.
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I know what you mean … it’s really crazy! 🙂
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I sometimes find myself wondering in passing about what’s going on in the lives of passengers of planes flying overhead. I imagine some of them are traveling on business, and maybe some are voing for a vacation. Are there others flying to see a sick family member, or going to attend the funeral of a relative who has died? I myself have experienced these things.
I somewhat doubt I’ll ever fly again. It’s too expensive and too difficult for me to get away from work. The idea of ever taking a vacation again seems a truly remote one.
Your work is always very thought provoking.
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I know what you mean about inventing stories about fellow passengers or travellers of any kind. I’ve never been over fond of flying … but I suppose if I want to visit home I will take another couple of flight … Thanks for reading and sharing your life here with me!
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I can totally relate to this poem. I long to discover new places, new people, new cultures all the time.
But unlike what J. Lapis said (which is very true too), I don’t long for to travel so I can lose myself but rather so that, comparing and contrasting my experience with that of others, I can make sense of the world and thus find myself, discovering aspects of my likes and dislikes I didn’t know existed, wasn’t aware of.
Beautifully penned poem that makes us think. Thank you for sharing!
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There are many reasons why one wishes to travel … and both yours and J’s interpretation could fit my poem I think … personally I travelled all of my life until recently and I’m happy to keep my trips short .. thanks so much for sharing your interesting point of view here .. to travel to understand is a wonderful reason to travel. Thanks 🙂
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Thank you for warranting the need for me to share 🙂
It’s your writing that did this 😉
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Glad to have that merit – a fine compliment! 😉
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this was a pleasure to read and i loved the insight of your ending! I often feel the same way:)
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Glad we have something in common! 🙂
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I don’t like to travel much but travelling can offer new opportunities for learning.
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They certainly can … 🙂
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I relate to this! Very well penned, thought provoking….
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Ah Sue if anyone could relate to this it would be you … I think every time I see one of your lovely photos that here is a soul traveller for sure!
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Thanks!
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I really can connect with this–I love to travel and like thinking about where that train or plane or tuktuk or songtaew (Thailand transportation because I lived there) is going. Beautiful.
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How cool to learn about different means of transportation besides the common train, plane or automobile .. I’m glad you could connect and thanks for sharing this with me!
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I could almost hear that train whistle!
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Cool … 😉
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I just love the idea of traveling on a train through…wherever…a fancy one. I think I have romanticized the journey itself. But delving into a place from the neighborhoods level I find facinating. A nice write:)
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🙂 Thanks Jazzy .. travelling by train can be very relaxing … or very tiring … as you say, depends on the train.
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Very well expressed the idea of getting away. I live to travel. I don’t see it as searching for greener fields. It’s a great big world out there, and I want to experience different cultures, and delve into history. Your poem is evocative and thoughtful, very nice.
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Glad you could find a resonance in the poem … yes the world is big and beautiful … especially when it’s so different from our background!
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I wonder if we really seek something new, someplace else, or we just hope for a moment without ourselves..
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An interesting reflection .. I think it’s relative to the individual actually.
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Really excellent Shadorma Summation that fits so well with the 2 prompts …. I really loved how you chose to remind yourself about how it is that others often wish to come to “your place” to visit, to stay, seeking, searching ….. often we forget that for as much as our longing and restlessness leads us to look outside of our surroundings, there are others who would be so pleased to be where we are ….
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Thanks for your great comment … yes, we tend to look for greener pastures overlooking the beauty that surrounds us, don’t we.
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I love the pictures you painted here.
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Thanks Tamara 🙂
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Nice imagery. I feel many of us have been there, longing for the chance to travel, see the sights of the world…myself included. Good job. I like it.
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Thanks … I think it’s something written in our DNA perhaps 😉
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