Best Travelogue Poems
this non conformist city
breathes a calm but edgy air
through gaps in the graffiti
and the street art everywhere
its face is sometimes brutal
but its heart and soul seem not
and it walks a sexy diverse walk
that’s cold yet somehow hot
(but I know I’m getting older
when those fun thoughts in my head
reject the swinging KitKatClub
for KitKat bars instead)
and all those wearing AirPods
sipping hot drinks on the go
pass tourists taking boat trips
slowly going with the flow
while the 'high tea' of a bratwurst
served from food trucks on the street
is eaten at tall tables
en plein air without a seat
and just like high end stores at home
the windows dress up nice
displaying bling that's priceless
- as it’s shown without its price
note too that no one jaywalks here
by crossing roads at will
not even during rush hour
when the traffic’s standing still
and when it comes to bridges
here’s a fact that crossed my mind:
there are more here than in Venice
and in Amsterdam combined
and by saving time by taking trams
that move berlin about
we spent time taking time in parks
where locals take time out
while the aiming and the shooting
by the wall towards the west
was just us aiming cell phones
shooting selfies with the rest.
but the death camp films and clothes we saw
of the many that were killed
brought tears that drowned a silence there
for the blood that humans spilled
and I cannot start to comprehend
the minds of those who kill
and just because I went there
- and just because I stood there
- and just because I wrote this
doesn’t mean I ever will.
Categories:
travelogue, city, history, holocaust, travel,
Form:
Rhyme
Dawn comes
On the silk route;
Sun sparkles
Tour trip explores
Vistas of China;
Old and new transits
So much to see:
Lovely landscapes;
Crowded cities morphing
Words in my journal,
Thoughts on my journey;
Miracles and mysteries
Mötley tourist crowd
Eagerly guzzling down
All things China in spring rain
We take our time,
Explore the edges;
Collect instant memories
My darling translates
Classical Chinese tongue:
Basic English field trip!
Beauty in nuances
Cryptic language profound:
Where the Middle Kingdom reigns
Memories on record,
Thought distiller in word motifs;
Celebrate and anchor
Eventful sojourn,
Spring sensations --
Mystic revelations
Just the other day,
My darling said to me:
Take another China trip?
Leon Enriquez
19 Feb 2014
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, journey, places,
Form:
Haiku
Journey starts
Kunming portraits;
Highway song
Here old and new
Merge yet apart;
Vignettes juxtapose
China welcomes
Both ancient and modern;
Sign of the times
Tour group confronts
Unfamiliar grounds;
Rough edges grind
Quaint ways of old
Ancient tales displaced;
Modern day norms intervene
Spectacular vistas
Natural wonders;
Man seems insignificant
Flood tide drowns
Flushing away;
False assumptions destroyed
Gust of wind
Reveals new passages;
Knowing does not know
Mountain peaks
Valleys well-clustered;
Fertile grounds well-used
Everywhere we go
People of all tribes;
A Chinese pageant
Human nature speaks
Polite tones sway;
Touch of humble quiet
These Chinese people:
Kind, warm, hospitable --
A touch of home
Himalayan backdrop
Mountains for company;
Melodrama purged
Methinks that I
Could hideaway here;
Unknown, undisturbed
One sure currency:
The Chinese language;
Pervasive, ubiquitous
Vast is the land
Far as our eye span;
Beyond imagery
Trades of all sorts
Risk is a sure thing;
Living is risky business
Ancient towns
Showpieces that speak;
In steady silence
Rivers and streams
Winding into quaint towns;
Ancient as old time
Pulse of the moment
Camera shutter snapshots;
Still life captured
Picture posture
By this arched bridge;
Keepsake souvenir
Sensory pursuits
Old Town bazaars;
Hasty trinkets acquired
Silver artisans
Hammer away;
Creations of white metal
Bric-bracs scattered
Awaiting curious eyes;
That impulse buy in tow
Round this village
Tourist show piece;
Modern commerce prevails
Bargains await
Hungry customers;
Weathered Oriental wares
In this roundabout square
Locals and tourists stride;
Seek new-found distractions
Spring time weather
Hot and dry and windy;
Like home without humidity
Our tour guide --
Cautions that silver jewellery
Best bought from reputable shops
Cheap price often
Compromises quality;
Authentic stuff cost much more
Lessons unlearnt
On-the-road trade routes;
Return odd regrets
A silver bangle
Heavy with 99 percent;
Quality speaks tons
Scattered eateries
Street vendors offer;
Glimpses that never die
So much to see,
Words fail description;
Feelings explore facts
Only ten days here
We see yet do not see;
Only vague interpretations
All too soon
Sojourn over;
Yunnan in mind mists
Leon Enriquez
31 May 2014
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, holiday,
Form:
Haiku
Discover a country by bus and train
Listen to the sound and look at the sight
Buildings may crumble but people remain
Santander port welcomes with loud refrain
Old station front, new inside, mix just right
Discover a country by bus and train
Valladolid's masonry masters reign
Once seen just leave on high speed vista-byte
Buildings may crumble but people remain
Almagro calls with its thespian vein
Crafts museum a hidden gem so bright
Discover a country by bus and train
Ciudad Real outsized for train and plane
Hotel welcome is more than just polite
Buildings may crumble but people remain
Peoples, cultures and tongues all wax and wane
Spain a wonderful place there to delight
Discover a country by bus and train
Buildings may crumble but people remain
Categories:
travelogue, culture, spanish, travel,
Form:
Villanelle
I left this world behind,
that runs faster,
hoping to explore,
with wheels of sophistication.
I connected with the nature,
flying above the clouds,
to the place unknown
with wings of my imagination.
I glanced the flowers
dancing in glory, there,
and the birds singing,
with words of my admiration.
I came back to this world
that scatters the filth
and, debases the humanity
with act of its annihilation
Categories:
travelogue, imagery,
Form:
Free verse
Observe the flow to sense a feel
As moments grow in causal will.
See change sculpt form in streaming pace
As time breaks norm to cause strange space.
Look deeper now and come to see
As poise of how and why set free.
Dare to observe the march of time
As space knows verse in unknown rhymes.
Come to terms here with mortal finds
As fate now spears the feeble mind.
Create and see just what you cast
As fond beauty frees truth at last.
Turn beyond this unknown sea
As wit owns bliss in joy set free.
Begin to see your true story
As love truly in heart cheery.
Weave travelogue in certain flight
As sure prologue can know the light.
Leon Enriquez
23 November 2014
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, change,
Form:
Couplet
For the sands, yellow burnish, sped by,
Met the burned orange toasting,
A golden sea of vision dominance
And filled the panoramic brain pan
Until each plaque strained as if to split,
Groaning with memorials of each grain,
Until the blackness rolled in,
Whispered sleep.
Upon the oceanic aquamarine, blue surf
Met the bruised umbra skyline,
A sooty ribbon, knotted and unfurling
That demonised the senses with possession
Until each salt-caked breath scragged,
Filled lungs and throat with nautical churnings
Until the compasses spun,
Ambit confusion.
In the mountains, graveyard green, brooding rock
Met the cotton-white cumulous,
These arcane gods, predominant kings,
Who raped the firmament’s splendid womb,
Until the seminal rain teemed down,
Burst on tongues of snaking road
Until the eyes saw truth,
Suffered home…
Categories:
travelogue, history, life, mystery, nature,
Form:
Blank verse
Taste how time speeds upon the way,
Rich textures show how fancy grows;
Ask to meet needs that face each day,
Vouch in deep flow a touch that knows;
Etch a fine dream that moves your heart,
Love laughs a lot when times look tough;
Opt thus to stream life's vivid art,
Gain as wise thought bears all things rough;
Urge cheer to brave life's ups and downs,
End with clear heart that bears each pain.
Keep fool and knave just like a clown,
Ink words that start to bring fond gains;
Note your own style of love that charms,
Dream conjures smiles that love now farms.
Leon Enriquez
21 May 2017
Hamlet Place, ACT
Categories:
travelogue, blessing,
Form:
Sonnet
(Rhymes written in a Travel Diary)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Travel in time
Reap sacred chimes
Ask to feel good
Voice each grand mood
Etch in sure thrill
Live happy fill
Opt to be kind
Glimpse heart and mind
Urge love to dance
End with each trance
Leon Enriquez
10 June 2018
Little Bay, Sydney
Categories:
travelogue, allegory,
Form:
Acrostic
Take your time now to journey here;
Ride with sure tides the routes you choose;
Ask to know how to walk with cheer;
Value each stride with feelings loose;
Empty your head of things afraid;
Look for the best in your charade;
Observe the dead to gain what's paid;
Go on your quest in your life's trade;
Urge helps you move with urgency;
Explore your grounds with curious eyes.
Boom and bust groove in harmony;
Unleash the sounds of sanguine highs;
Zeal starts the flow of happy trends;
Zest weaves the glow of certain ends.
Leon Enriquez
23 June 2014
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, celebration,
Form:
Sonnet
Taste then the feel as words scripts come,
Reach for clear thought in fond fine trace;
Ink words that heal as quest now sums,
Pique how fond lot can bridge odd pace.
Touch knows as well how fancy moves,
Reap ample poise as travel grounds;
Ask thus warm spell to craft deep grooves,
Voice in sure choice a moment found;
Echoes of cheer afford some ease,
Letters now draft that mystic flair;
Observe right here a deeper peace,
Glimpses of craft frame affluent airs;
Urge then true cites that beauty grows,
Etch brilliant writes in subtle flow.
Leon Enriquez
01 April 2017
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, change,
Form:
Sonnet
Time knows clear tact where truth moves space,
Reach with your heart to feel pure ease;
Art frames deep pact as glimpse floods trace,
Voice in fond start true poise of peace;
Etch in full sketch the trip you take,
Love shows you how to live warm zest;
Opt to find match in joy you stake,
Gain wise health now as faith funds quest;
Urge hope to spring a bright new play,
Embrace your race to forge great stuff.
Proof that soul brings upon the way,
Address due pace of rough and tough;
Choice sparks grand charm as trust reveals,
Thought forms can farm what soul voice thrills.
Leon Enriquez
05 May 2018
Hamlet Place, ACT
Categories:
travelogue, beauty,
Form:
Sonnet
I stuffed my pockets full of California minutes,
Set out from Bakersfield before the break of day.
Checked out a waitress at a coffee shop in Needles
Then blew through Flagstaff on my way to Santa Fe.
Cut loose and rootless, making random left-hand turns
Straight razor whiskey, gotta love the way it burns
Pulled up at Pueblo for my ration of tequila
Long after hours in the Garden of Repose.
I paid my lady love a call in Carson City,
Got tanked in Reno with a Sacramento rose.
Street lamps and neon on a warm midsummer’s night
Drawn toward the tunnel at the end of so much light
Broke bread in Stockton with a Guatemalan dancer.
Shook down a flop house called The Shady Rest Motel.
Laid low in Fresno for the balance of my paycheck,
Got back to Bakersfield in time to raise some hell.
I’m gonna ramble till the swallows leave for Egypt.
Gonna ramble till the Happy Prince goes blind.
I’m gonna ramble till I’ve gathered up my troubles.
Gonna ramble till I’ve left ‘em all behind.
Might put my suitcase under the bed,
But I always leave it packed for later.
Categories:
travelogue, travel,
Form:
Lyric
After two weeks of riding the winds across the world,
I return to the nest where my heart had perched all along.
Meeting old souls and young flames was a melody of warmth,
Their greetings, like golden threads, wove memories into my soul.
Living alone in my quiet cocoon, I had forgotten the dance of life,
But among many hearts under one roof, I felt the fire rekindle.
The walls may have worn the years like ancient scrolls,
Yet the laughter within them lit the halls like chandeliers of joy.
Some lands felt like overflowing treasure chests,
Where a simple coin made me a king, if only for a day.
Others stood like castles on high cliffs, unreachable,
Yet the kindness of strangers built bridges across our differences.
I longed to stand before the great wonders,
But the stormy whims of weather and health held me back.
Perhaps, through the looking glass of a screen,
I shall still taste the marvels of my fleeting odyssey.
Categories:
travelogue, travel,
Form:
Free verse
Way beyond poise lies a sure wit,
Apt grace brings light to touch your face;
Reach that still choice where all things fit,
Mind and heart sight sure time and space.
Trust joy to flood your soul with truth,
Reap what you sow in sync with peace;
Art in fond blood now hurls sure proof,
Voice what you know as change greets ease;
Etch a grand trip as journey grounds,
Love knows a style that mellows cheer;
Opt for fine grip in beauty found,
Glimpses worthwhile now linger near;
Urge higher quest to channel zest,
End with grand fest that pleasures best.
Leon Enriquez
13 March 2018
Singapore
Categories:
travelogue, beauty,
Form:
Sonnet