Friday, 22 August 2014

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




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