I recently returned from a holiday in Bali. I had been looking forward to much reading, writing and relaxing as well as watching my four year old grand-daughter experience her first overseas travel adventure. The holiday had to be cut short due to some unscheduled health related issues that unfortunately claimed me. So, reading/writing plans did not materialize as I had envisaged, but I did get to see the joy in a child's eyes when exploring a new and exciting culture. Priceless...
I at least got to rework a poem I had written on a previous Bali sojourn which was most satisfying. It has morphed into a haibun poem, so my brief time in Bali produced a small, yet profound change. I'm home now and feeling better in every respect.
A Room At Puri Damai
Lying beneath a flimsy sheet, under the heavy heat of a Bali evening. I observe the ceiling fan, slightly out of kilter. It whirs and clicks as it spins, emitting a faint squeak of discomfort in its efforts to keep the warm air moving. The bedside lamp throws a buttery sheen and feeble shadows across the tiled floor. The ingrained scent of sandalwood and ancient cigarettes odours leak slowly from the furniture. Up the wall skitters a thin green gecko-ceiling bound. Suddenly, it stalls, as if someone just called –freeze!
In languid calmness
Only lizard and fan move
Under soft lamp light
Alan j Wright
It is yet again Poetry Friday and our host this week is Janice Scully. Janice shares a Nikki Grimes book, 'A Walk In The Woods' and a poignant story regarding the book's journey to publication. She also shares a poem about loss.
I'm glad to read that you are better, Alan, and sorry for the shortened time there! You captured a time I recently had in a family trip to Costa Rica, watching a lizard climb our living room wall. We wondered what it could see that he was going for, insects we couldn't see ourselves? "Languid calmness" brings me back as I imagine it does for you, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I am slowly regaining my health. It looks like we have experienced tthe same languid calmness in these different locations.
DeleteI can feel the weight of that heat and can picture, aside from the fan and lizard, the stillness of it all. So sorry about the health issues and glad you're feeling better!!
ReplyDeleteThe heat does possess a weight and a stillness in the tropics, Karen. I am recuperating slowly but surely back in the relatice cool of Australia.
DeleteHi Alan, this is Janice. Bali is relatively close to you, but seems so far away and exotic to me. Would love to go there. Sorry that you were ill but I'm glad you are improved. Your poem paints an exquisite setting engaging all the senses. Lovely photo of your little granddaughter. Thanks for taking me to Bali!
ReplyDeleteBali is only 6 hours away by plane, Janice, so access is relatviely easy. Thank you for sharing a little Bali time with me and my family.
DeleteSo sorry to hear that you were ill, and glad that you're feeling better! Your haibun is so evocative - so many sensory details transport the reader to Bali. Thanks for sharing this today.
ReplyDeleteJust bad luck, Elisabeth. So glad you enjoyed the Haibun. i am most pleased with the eventual outcome.
DeleteVery evocative! I particularly like "emitting a faint squeak of discomfort in its efforts to keep the warm air moving," the description of the odours leaking slowly from the furniture, and "only lizard and fan move." Glad you are feeling better now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback Tabatha. You have extracted quite a lot from the poem. Rebuilding my health each day.
DeleteThank you for the visit to Bali via your very descriptive words. Glad you are felling better!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rose. You begin to feel better when you land home...
DeleteLucky granddaughter! When I was four, my adventure was private swimming lessons at the local pool!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better!
Thanks Mary Lee, must admit my grand-daughter also did a lot of swimming while we were away, be it in exotic pools.
DeleteAlan, your trip photos are beautiful. What tool did you use for the picture of your grandaughter. It is a beauty, I am sorry that you were not feeling up to spending more time on your vacation. I know how it feels. Your haibun is a gem since I have never experience the beauty of Bali. -In languid calmness- Those words sum up the slow lifestyle of a tropical vacation.
ReplyDeleteCarol, that photo was straight from my Iphone- but it is a beauty! So glad you enjoy my haibun amid all that tropical and languid calm.
DeleteSo sorry you had to cut your time short. I love thinking about those wobbly fans and the tropical heat.
ReplyDeleteWobbly fans amid the tropical heat indeed, Marcie. Am slowly regaining my healthy disposition.
DeleteI am there...mesmerized by buttery light, humidity, and a gecko seeking nirvana.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining me in spirit, Patricia.
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