Wobbling, whistling down the street,
I think "What could be more sweet?"
than "lost in a lost world" and
"stranger in a strange land"
could in the lines of this poem meet.
IN A WORLD WHERE I DO NOT EXIST
In a world where I do not exist
Nor believe I am entitled to be
Then that will be my destination
Following a period of gestation
And do not need a reservation
From this here and now, I see
A transition that I cannot resist
No entry permits ever needed
But such emigration is one way
As a stranger in a strange land
It cannot be as anyone planned
With much I won’t understand
But a freedom so unlike today
Such little benefit is conceded
Will it be a different tomorrow
But still based here, in this place
Or somewhere in the distance
Should I challenge my existence
Avoiding any lingering resistance
Could it even be a state of grace
A permanent goodbye to sorrow
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
Ushered by God to abide in His light
My steps keep walking along what is right
While I journey toward eternal place
As blessed stranger in a foreign land.
Endowed with new creation’s holy might
My faith soars upward great reaching-out height
Propelled by the Lord to share love and grace
As blessed stranger in a foreign land.
Looking forward to living with delight
Glorious paradise of wonderful sight
I long for blissful everlasting ways
As blessed stranger in a foreign land.
Here on earth, my heart pleads for heaven’s rays
As blessed stranger in a foreign land.
June 5, 2024
8th place, "YOU CHOOSE 2024" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 12/25/2024
“I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
- Bible, Exodus 2:22
This land doesn’t welcome the undefined,
Unsung are the ones that desire its light,
Impeded are those who seek the hidden,
Strangers aren’t embraced by its rising sun,
Cocooned in mystery are the land’s ways,
The night does not grant access through its door,
I do not know what brought me to this land,
I don’t know what trailed my feet through its path,
I seek to know and pursue my purpose,
The books say that time will bring my sure course.
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
Siddhartha
Wanderer, ascetic, teacher, awakened
Son of Suddhodana and Maya
Lover of right action, right thought and right speech
Who feels ‘Desire is the root cause of all misery’*
Who fears Ignorance, Attachment and Suffering
Who would like to see people live life with right purpose
Lived in Bodhgaya
Gautama, The Buddha.
*strangely true, yet cannot be realized
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
Strange and shy
Strange and scared
Scared at home
Scared at school
School is frightening
School is scary
Scary kids
Scary teachers
Teachers might disapprove
Teachers might yell
Yell at a mistake
Yell at a false move
Move apart
Move away
Away from trouble
Away from fear
Fear of boys
Fear of girls
Girls tease
Girls laugh
Laugh at my clothes
Laugh at my red face
Face the music
Face the big boys
Boys who fight
Boys who strike
Strike three
Strike out
Out of range
Out of danger
Danger here
Danger there
There a landmine
There a snare
Snare a rabbit
Snare a kid
Kid at 12 o'clock
Kid on the playground
Playground threats
Playground bullies
Bullies loom
Bullies go away
Away from people
Away and alone
Alone is safe
Alone is lonely
Lonely...
Safe...
Quote:"Harriet Tubman: “I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.”
Inspirationt: "I have been a stranger in a strange land" Bible, Exodus 2:22
Starnger, a name whispered in unfamiliar tones,
A face foreign in a sea of knowns,
Crossing borders, a journey grand,
I have been a stranger in a strange land.
From distant shores, a dream in hand,
New culture's tide, a shifting sand,
Languages twist, meanings unclear,
In crowded streets, solitude is near.
Eyes that glance, but seldom see,
An immigrant's life, a silent plea,
To belong, yet to stand apart,
Survival wrapped in a cautious heart.
In the warmth of my circle, I find,
Echoes of home, memories kind,
Yet outside, in the mainstream's glare,
A shadow I remain, barely there.
Isolation, a cloak I wear,
Loneliness, a constant prayer,
In this new world, vast and grand,
A stranger, always, in a strange land.
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
I travelled far across that world and saw
the strangest sights. The buildings unlike ones
I'd seen before. The towers spiralled to
the sky, the tunnels underground were vast,
so deep beneath the planet's crust. The sky
was green, the planet's many moons like ships
upon a stormy sea. Each tree and plant,
each creature crawling, flying, swooping there
enormous things that dwarfed me.
And how I long to travel there again...
" 3. " I have been a stranger in a strange land. " Bible, Exodus 2:22"
Home Wanderer
Long dusty path
Long gone my home
Home miles behind
Home gone alone
Alone I walk
Alone I seek
Seek new horizons
Seek much more
More joy and love
More happy times
Times not had
Times can't rewind
Rewind to the past
Rewind to make a change
Change past mistakes
Change all my wrongs
Wrongs done to me
Wrongs done to all
All those I loved
All them that care
Care about me
Care to wonder where
Where I am going
Where to lay my head
Head full of dreams
Head full of hope
Hope found in strange places
Hope in strange lands
Lands before unknown
Lands where I now am
Am I alone still
Am I a stranger
Stranger where I'm going
Stranger where I've been
Been searching, searching
Been striving, striving
Striving for more
Striving to belong
Belong and be loved
Belong and give love
Love another soul
Love myself enough
Enough of this
Enough is enough
Enough walking now
Enough ye wanderer
Wanderer no-more
Wanderer, a stranger
Stranger …
No-more …
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
The compass whirrs.
North toward rock, south toward sand.
East toward ice, and west toward river.
Like a game of spin the bottle I take a chance on north,
run my hands over stone and pebble,
the spine of life a twisting snakeskin, shedding.
The compass whirrs
as words and winds uproot me to the south. Dust ridden,
arid. Earth sizzles, a roast overdone. My flaking skin
drenched in sweated drought.
The compass whirrs
as those years of crinkling sand dune heat melt
somehow into eastern snow. You don’t understand
how or why or when those summers became leaves that
fall, became sleet upon which you slip, recklessly, helplessly, toward time’s
splash. The final plunge pool.
Now, western waters offer a mirror,
sometimes murky, sometimes crystal,
and still, the compass whirrs, as you realise
that strange land - your body.
The stranger - you.
"I have been a stranger in a strange land." Bible, Exodus 2:22
the sun rising
the sun shining
shining new day
shining new light
light of hope
light of peace
peace for me
peace for you
you will know
you will show
show all men
show all nations
nations without war
nations without fear
fear is dying
fear is dead
dead to wealth
dead to self
self let go
self find way
way to life
way to God
God is good
God is love
love is free
love is spread
spread with joy
spread with rejoicing
rejoicing with song
rejoicing with music
music is playing
music is speaking
speaking with words
speaking with poetry
poetry never ends
poetry ever extends
extends to hearts
extends to hands
hands always working
hands always caring
caring for others
caring for sharing
sharing the load
sharing the road
road through night
road to light
light the pathway
light the heavens
heavens
pathway
Just a stranger in a strange land
A thousand miles of desert sand
With only the stars to guide me
And a thirst for life inside me
The moon eclipsed the desert air
Then from my lips a silent prayer
Enlightenment I do beseech
The precipice that I might reach
No boundaries that I can see
This desert wind has set me free
A wanderer without a home
A thousand miles for me to roam
DISORIENTATION
Ever since you came into my life
I have been in a constant turmoil
My head is afloat on a wave crest
My heart trying to leave my chest
And all around me, emotions coil
Disorientated thinking is now rife
Since that time I haven’t breathed
At least not deeply, to understand
Why everything is spinning around
Yet no helpful answer have I found
I’m but a stranger, in a strange land
And for sanity’s sake, not believed
Maybe the power you hold over me
Is too strong to manage and control
It feeds on our passions and desire
And burns bright, like a raging fire
Drawing up strength from the soul
It is real, almost as if a third entity
But yet, I still cannot think straight
Swirling around, as if on a carousel
I never thought love as an aberration
Yet I kind of enjoy this disorientation
Will it come to rest, I really can’t tell
As surely, in good time, it will abate
I am just a stranger in a strange land,
Finding it hard to fit in or understand.
So many things in the name of progress,
Many more were lost, but it’s to be expected I guess.
They are gone, now leaving only memories,
They now belong to part of history.
We know we can’t bring back the time before,
Once it’d passed through that portal it closed the door.
Leaving me here a stranger in a strange land.
Knowing I can never go back to what I left behind,
Yet knowing I now am a prisoner in this time.
Stranger than strange
Something’s wrong.
They try to rearrange,
By moving me along.
Join society,
Step in line.
Refrain from impropriety,
Follow the sign.
Like a puppet on a string,
Aware but controlled,
On the threads that I cling,
Going once, twice then sold.
As if in auction,
Or just the roll of a dice,
Sold with caution,
My name was a price.
His name is obviously fake
So he inoculates himself from me
He's waiting for my first mistake
So I'll wait also but more patiently
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