I have crossed enough borders
to know that countries are only arguments
between one horizon and another,
and passports are maps of suspicion.
I have slept beneath unfamiliar ceilings,
learned the manners of borrowed cities,
drunk coffee whose names I could pronounce
but never quite understood.
Everywhere, civilisation offered me a chair—
provided I knew which fork to use,
when to applaud, when to remain silent,
and how convincingly to pretend I belonged.
But somewhere between the opera houses
and the roadside stalls, between philosophy
and the cheap wisdom of tired men,
I began to suspect the traveller was the destination.
So I returned carrying no souvenirs,
only the uncomfortable knowledge
that home had been following me all along—
and I had mistaken its footsteps for mine.
554.
Let's Learn Geography!
Let's learn a Social Science subject called Geography
Look at our planet more closely
Through the Globe, behold its replica
Through the Map, behold its vista
Travel through Asia & Europe
The Americas too I hope
The wilderness of Australia, the glaciers of Antarctica
Every place on earth has a panorama!
-04/30/2017
(Dumarao)
*SSN Poems
All you water, please file neatly
into the ocean - I mean completely,
and if you are dirt, you are meant
to lie on a continent.
Islands and lakes, please prepare,
for your judgment, the electric chair.
The mind has peaks
no Sherpa knows
sudden drops
where thoughts
thin out
like oxygen
at twenty thousand feet.
Avalanche thoughts
bury certainty.
Your grip tears skin
on ice-sharp edges
of almost-understanding.
Below are the
crevasses deep
as yesterday's regrets,
echoing
familiar voices
lost in white.
Wind cuts through
the space between
base camp comfort
and what
waits above
the death zone.
Frostbite burns
circle your fingertips
the attempt
to hold
what altitude
has already
stolen.
Only the fallen
know the weight of thin air.
Only the hanging
over glacier cracks
know the value
of solid ground.
This terrible geography
some must
navigate alone.
I map empty rooms,
marking them with your absence—
an atlas of loss.
sans geography
The USA is this world
others, planets...
Japan is Russia
Brazil is in China
China is out there...!
The little humble bean
that found its way into a cup
made a splash upon the scene
after Kaldi’s goat had stirred it up
it travelled fast and well
from Ethiopia to Yemen
some called it the drink from hell
until Clement became a fan.
the aroma crossed the pond
and Boston had to celebrate
once the New World had succumbed
it quickly poured out into states
before old London knew
they served it morning, noon and night
this penny university brew
would see its name put up in lights
in newspapers and magazines
the high street flooded with its shops
a berry rarely seen
in processed form warmed more than pots
served in different ways
from skinny whites to espresso shots
cappuccinos to tall lattes
we toast the goat that time forgot.
Hailed countries, old and new
Old civilization, myth or true
North to South, poetry of bards
East to West like flash of cards
Names on maps are words in gaps
Eloquence or simplicity in poetry snaps
Your poetry speaks of geography
Origins of people, languages and philosophy
Your words and thoughts so grand in many forms
Rocks of inspiration in a volcano dorms
Hidden yet rugged
At the bottom of the world
Cool water flowing
High above Hell’s barren gates
High above ringed deception
If Earth were actually
flat as they claim,
would never meet
in opposites...
Never USA and Russia,
would approach the extremes...
Doing is Happening
There are imaginary lines to mark locations in a map
Horizontal parallel layti are latitude lines.
Vertical khari lambi are longitude lines.
Four directions to go
The time is now.
Note.Maps can only guide readers.
Lesson.The marker of imagination is an important ingredient.
This is a tanka, because Canada is "tanking":
I
There are 3 countries that are really "North America" -
Canada, Us, and Mexico (Most forget Mexico is North!)
II
"Stainless Steel" Lady Mcgreavy updated me on the news from Canada -
"The American Pandemic has passed the permeable borders"
III
Mexico was always bad with policing, law and order bull
After George Floyd, Canada cops are killing First Americans
IV
Canada has upped the ante - is it THE END ?
RCMP are killing - by guns - First Nations Women. Lord!
The Cotswolds are a bunch of hills in rural England's heart
They're green and rolling, full of sheep that frolic, bleat and fart.
People come from far and wide to hike the Cotswold Way,
And from Bath to Chipping Campden lovely views enhance their stay.
The villages and towns each have a unique English charm,
And when the sun shines on those hills there's joy on every farm.
The cows and pigs and chickens temporarily forget their fate,
That tomorrow or the next day they'll be on somebody's plate.
The dry stone walls meander through the fields o'er hills and dales,
And from the very top you can unluckily see Wales,
A country full of Welshmen waving leeks and daffodils,
Who sing too much and abuse their sheep amongst their rugged hills.
I'm digressing, it's the Cotswolds that’s the topic of this ode,
There's beauty round every corner of each winding country road.
So when in England, to the Cotswolds drive without delay,
You won't regret it, honestly, you'll love it every day.
My buttocks both rejoice whene'er those hills come into view,
I love those gorgeous Cotswolds, and I know that you will too.
“Please use it in a sentence.”
“We live on the Chicago consonant,” the eighth grader said, proudly.
“Do you know what a consonant is?” The teacher asked the student.
“Sure,” he said, “Like Rhode Island, right?” His classmates nodded.
The teacher sighed. Un-learning is so much tougher than learning.
On a happier note, she was grateful that she was the English teacher,
Not the geography teacher.
Geology, geometry, biology, biography
Anthropology, psychology, geography, photography,
Psychiatry, psychometry, cartography, graphography,
So many ol-ogies and og-Raph-ies, so little time.
Yet am I studying any of them?
Not today. Today I am sitting in my lazy girl,
Watching a year’s worth of a designer show.
I have been starring at other people working like mad.
Learning nothing but as it is my day off, not feeling a bit bad.
The ologies and ographies can wait another five years or so.
When I retire and I have watched every design show,
This is when I can study all the ologies and ographies.
So leave me alone today if you please.
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