Beth Camp Historical Fiction

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Travel Plans . . .

I sink into myself, pushed by so little time,
so much to do. All is illusion and yet
I find joy in watching an African violet bloom,
purple fat flowers, so delicate,
each day the tiny head of a new bloom lifts
and faces the sun.

The Great Migration calls.
Each spring, several hundred thousand wildebeests
sweep over African grassy plains to a birthing.
I will see elephants and tree-climbing lions.
I will travel across two oceans
to the Great Rift,
that place prehistoric peoples called home,
another moon rising,
another mystery fragmented through time.
Let the sun burn away my doubt.
Ride the crocodile into deep waters.
We are never not broken;
we are always whole.

This poem comes from several sources, Sunday Scribblings Prompt #270 Sweet (which I misread as Joy), Carry on Tuesday Prompt #107 So little time, so much to do, and then this interesting and lovely article by Julie C. Peters about a Hindu goddess named Akhilandeshavari. Her story illustrates that somehow even when we lie on the floor, overwhelmed by any of an amazing number of traumatic events, that we are never not broken, that we are ready for change, a kind of persistent quest, perhaps more than survival, that is unique to each of us.

13 comments:

  1. very nice - will look for more of your poetry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello.
    I was instantly hooked as soon as I saw purple (smile). It's my favorite color.

    Vivid images you've captured here.

    Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:34 AM

    What wonderful travel plans..you took us there too! Jae

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4:22 PM

    joy...sweet...both words describe thoughts of good travels....thank you

    ReplyDelete
  5. great descriptions...made me want to travel along.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I felt as though I had wings.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You've done so well managing all these prompts together so nicely! Thanks for your visit :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the peacefulness of this along with the sense of adventure. You are on quite a journey :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the transition from personal to the broader world, full of geography and multi-culturalism. Very creative and original.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You covered a lot of ground in just your travel plans. Wish I could travel with you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous5:08 AM

    Very nice! Along with gsb3, I thought the zoom out from closeup lent much power to this work.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I also hope that I can have some travel plans and then to do.

    karen millen

    ReplyDelete