Where they begin
Is as much a mystery
As where they end
But their promise of adventure
Calls to me
I love a country that is big
That is grand
Where the sky
Makes love to land
Then I come home
Where I live in it
But sometimes need
A reminder
The many-headed serpents
Protect the temple
Protect its people
Protect Buddha and Buddhism
Waving goodbye to Patime, who sold baskets, Zuhra aimlessly made her way across the street, being careful to take in all the sights of the nearly closed marketplace before innocently stopping outside Tahir’s shop.
Such a road promises
Adventure, beauty, discovery
And the longer I follow it
The further inside myself I see
Some images
Must be allowed
To speak for themselves
And so I forfeit
The beauty
And insight
I will never know
Other
Unfettered
Without risk
Without consequence
Without desperation
Somewhere better
To be
Somewhere different
To see
In a landscape
Buffeted by winds
Battered by waves
The land and flora
Shaped, shattered,
Broken and splintered
