Photograph of a tiled Islamic pattern at the Mosquee de Paris by Jordana Shalhoub.
For the Writers Island prompt "journey," a poem about a journey interrupted:
My new passport
is missing a stamp:
there's no visa to that country
where we lost our hearts
and found love.
Totally unexpected,
a coup de foudre*
from that smile of recognition
and the meeting of the minds
to the souls' kiss.
My passport needed extra pages
to tell the story of you and me:
all those arrivals and departures
spanning the globe,
charting our romance.
No visas necessary
to understand love
can't be measured by distance
or air miles collected
visiting exotic locales.
Circumstances conspired
and our paths diverged,
traveling across time zones
in opposite directions,
while longing to be together.
Bound only by love
before continents intervened
and gravity pulled us apart.
Someday the globe will spin
and we'll embrace again.
*French expression meaning a bolt (thunderbolt) from the blue.
PP, I just love your site,your poetry- so beautiful and worldly.I too love treasures of the past and have collections of singed Perfume bottles,Icons,angels,Madonna's and Santos(from Spain and South America. I am going to send this site to my husband who has been collect American antiques (mostly clocks,early 18th and 19th century paintings) since he was 12. We have trouble finding things now as they are very dear. Still I would love to see more of your life the that wonderful city. Stay ever creative and safe.
love you-Melanie-bd.
Posted by: Melanie-bd | 07 October 2007 at 19:02
Mmmm. I have been online between crashes the past two weeks. So happy now especially I took some time to poke around the blog posts I've missed.
Posted by: ren.kat | 06 October 2007 at 11:25
"Someday the globe will spin
and we'll embrace again."
That's quite beautiful Tara! The entire piece is wonderful... I especially like the two lines I have singled out. They stand by themselves as both a longing for, and a pure belief in the power and inevitability of true love united.
Excellent! ;)
Posted by: Rob Kistner | 05 October 2007 at 11:36
Romantic thread of words! There really are no boundaries when it comes to love! Great job!
Hugs Sherrie
Posted by: giggles | 05 October 2007 at 10:55
I love this... makes me feel very, very good about life and the possibility of love even when one is constantly on the move.
x
Posted by: Frida | 05 October 2007 at 06:06
What a magical web of words you you woven through love's heart.
Posted by: AnnieElf | 05 October 2007 at 04:21
exquisite.
Posted by: wendy | 04 October 2007 at 19:07
So poignant and romantic, this poem~ it sparks all kinds of ideas for stories and movies and lovely music playing in the background :)
Posted by: Becca | 04 October 2007 at 05:28
That last stanza brought tears to my eyes. You have such a romantic heart, perhaps passed down through centuries of gilded lovers in hot climates separated by oceans. Thank you!
Posted by: Ashley Lyn | 04 October 2007 at 03:31
I like the saying "coup de foudre", very nice
Posted by: cathy | 03 October 2007 at 19:17
Ah, romance! Well written. I
It reminded me of my years (adolescent years) when I had to move from country to country every couple of years because of my father's work. Oh! I left behind so many loves!
Posted by: Kimberley | 03 October 2007 at 18:53
Amazing Tara. The flow is perfect.
Rose
xo
Posted by: Rose Dewy Knickers | 03 October 2007 at 14:53
Wow! I wish I had a way with the words as you do! What a journey you took us ALL on with this writing!
Posted by: Pam Aries | 03 October 2007 at 14:08
What a sweet love story ... one really hopes the globe will spin soon
Posted by: Fenny | 03 October 2007 at 13:44
Your poem made my mind wander in so many directions - the long distance relationship with a Dutch boy I met while on student exchange (it didn't last long after I returned to New Zealand, unfortunately, the way in which couples would show me their passports as evidence of their relationship when I was an immigration officer (look, we traveled to all these places together), and the beautiful Egyptian visa stamp in my passport that was never used. Very beautiful!
Posted by: Pip | 03 October 2007 at 08:15
Tara, this is so poignantly romantic, it makes my heart swell, and my eyes well up with tears...your poetry expresses so much - the love and the longing...
Beautiful and touching ~ ((hugs))
Posted by: tinker | 03 October 2007 at 07:04
Unbelievably brilliant!
"what you doing after work?"
Posted by: Steve | 03 October 2007 at 05:31
Don't know what I can say that has not already been said. S'wonderful!
Posted by: pepektheassassin | 03 October 2007 at 04:59
Its beautiful, so romantic.
Posted by: harmony | 03 October 2007 at 04:26
the globe is spinning - can't you feel it?
this made me cry.
beautiful Tara - really really beautiful.
Posted by: maddie | 03 October 2007 at 03:57
That tile is unbelievably beautiful, so intricate, I wish we had more of such beauty in our lives... I feel people don't want to put in the time it takes to produce such beauty... we are rushing to our end... I want to take time and be so greedy with it... I want to give time to myself... You always make me think, Tara!!! Vida x x
Posted by: Vida | 03 October 2007 at 03:20
Hi I am back again to ask you to pick up an award
Posted by: marja | 03 October 2007 at 01:03
love is divine...when it's rightglad your trip was good...blessings, rebecca
Posted by: Cre8Tiva | 03 October 2007 at 00:45
oh yes - I am here...
beautifully expressed...
xox - eb.
Posted by: eb | 02 October 2007 at 22:28
Ah, a lovely poem. A lover's poem. A life's journey poem. Ah, wonderful...oh, and the photo is fascinating.
Posted by: Tumblewords | 02 October 2007 at 21:53
I particularly like the lines about "no visas required to understand love," as it says it all. So very true.
Posted by: Mary T. | 02 October 2007 at 21:50
How beautiful, how romantic I totally love this poem.
Posted by: marja | 02 October 2007 at 21:41
Oh... how delicious!!! As someone involved in a relationship that spans two countries (though thankfully a single continent), I so see myself in your words. THANK you!
Peace,
Hedwyg
Posted by: Hedwyg | 02 October 2007 at 19:51
Beautiful... What memories for me this evokes... I can still see your face in the window as we parted... never to be seen again...
Posted by: Lea | 02 October 2007 at 19:19
The photo looks like how I imagine a snowflake would look if I could see all the detail. And it jives so perfectly with your poem. Very nice.
Posted by: Ally | 02 October 2007 at 19:11
i'm also a huge fan of the final stanza!
Posted by: she | 02 October 2007 at 18:22
A lovely poem........especially the last stanza.
Posted by: jo | 02 October 2007 at 17:48
Beautiful! and so true....journeys together...and then no anymore
Posted by: Catalina | 02 October 2007 at 17:36
Love it, Tara, especially the last lines. K.
Posted by: Karen DeGroot Carter | 02 October 2007 at 16:25
I think you may have channeled my younger years. Oh this brings back such bittersweet memories...
Posted by: Robin from Israel | 02 October 2007 at 16:15
Beautiful picture, beautiful words, good morning! leau
Posted by: Leau | 02 October 2007 at 16:15
Love has no words to decribe it, no boundaries, needs no passport. Love is...well...lot more than love...
Am I getting mushy here..:D
You post has effect on me!
*grin*
Posted by: gautami | 02 October 2007 at 15:52