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.
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.
Was it my fault
you lost your diamond earrings?
You said so.
A dozen hotel mornings,
packing again,
trying to meet itinerary deadlines
tightly coiled, breathless
hungover.
I might have scooped them
into a hotel room trash bin
in Rome, Geneva, Paris, or London;
you drop them anywhere,
or you may have left them
in one of a dozen vacated bathrooms.
Not that I am accusing you.
Try to relax, we are fully insured
for unforeseen eventualities
including divorce.
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
(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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
With my coming to Italy this summer of 2008
I’ve had the chance to reconnect with some friends;
Despite the looming weak dollar values in the market,
it has drawn me to fly and pick up my Italian so far.
The hot spells and overcrowded Milan Central Station,
have really made me struggle through the rush hours
Italians and other cultures continue to travel elsewhere
an interesting view, a melange of plans and destinations.
When I reached the city of Piacenza, my first leg for a visit
had a bit of recalling my sense of mem’ry and direction;
seemingly a problem as I tried to trace back the way
that leads to the place where I’d stay for a while.
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…
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