half way to istanbul

Since joining a poets group several years ago my previously erratic poetry output has become much more regular and more satisfying.

I wrote this poem in April 2013 on a plane on my way to a conference in Istanbul via Seoul. It was a time when the North Korean leadership was once more flexing its nuclear muscles. 

half way to istanbul

across the misted plain

a cumulus castle presses

ragged battlements

against a fiery sky 

to the north a dragon

bigger than the castle -

bigger than the mountain

on which the castle stands -

rears up and

roars at the setting sun

the cabin lights dim -

down below

liquid lines of headlights flow

across the darkened landscape -

wing tips rise

anticipating home

  

for some this journey ends

in warm beds

in this land of grace

but for the rest

stiff necks and swollen feet

come with us

as we flee towards the sunset

out of dragon’s reach