On The Write Path

And Bobo makes three (Invention of love) [JI#4]

For: "Journalistic Intentions" 

The Invention of Love

AND BOBO MAKES THREE

sand sifting
through clasped fingers — sunset
then dawn

We travelers travel. Some know what they are looking for. Others just wander gazing at everything, inhaling a different fragrance on the breeze, tasting a different... It need not be food. Travelers have needs too! But a smile or a hug doesn't always translate well across cultures. Fortunately, those who cannot trip across love at home sometimes fall into quicksand on the side of an alien road. Sometimes all it takes is a sunset and a bit of sand.

sand sifting
through clasped fingers — sunset
then dawn

I sat on the beach above the tide watching the lovebirds. They came from different cultures. She from mine, he from an ancient land across the Taiwan Straights. It was hard for him to be 25 and almost too old to marry. She was free. He was not. He felt the family pressure even when on vacation.

family far away —
the nosy moon shines
too close tonight.

Bobo was a Tico, a perezoso, a bit slow. In Jiufen he decided that he wanted to visit China. So he hitched a ride with Dawid and Mei to Beijing. He hangs out with them in Poland now. Bobo makes three! He spoke Spanish when I last saw him. Has he learned Mandarin and Polish? Does he like pierogi and shumai? Do they feed him his favorite greens?

a tropical toy —
snow lingers on strange pines
stranger tongues

Anna Maria, enough like me to be my own granddaughter. Far from home, like me. She wants a companion, perhaps I do too. We look at the choices surrounding us, nod our heads and agree that they'll more than 'do', but go home alone. There's little hope for me. I'm old. But she is young and vivacious. Perhaps she'll find what she is looking for next time she travels, perhaps at home on her Baltic island.

No matter how far
you roam — the flame within
goes with you.

© Copyright 2021 Kåre Enga[177.364] (15.mars.2021)