Foreign Country….by Kathryn Owen

The past is a foreign country
No boundaries
Except my own limitations
No passport required
Adventures take me to places
Of delights and darkness
Each night I travel
To yet another country

The future was just a dream
Of existence
Travelling distances
Of time and space
People I meet along the way
Some just pass by
Others stay a while and walk
With me, sharing my time there

Some sadly depart,
Our souls entwined
For but a moment, 
Lingering, living, laughing,
Until the time comes to depart,
The last kiss, 
The last touch,
The last smile.

I hope our paths will cross
Again in the future.
Postcard memories I hold
Within my heart, 
At times I take them out
And ponder them,
I can never go back
To those foreign lands,

Some best forgotten,
Best left behind,
Always moving forward,
Never back
I’m a foreigner speaking a language
Of emotion and sentiment, 
Of pain and anguish, 
Of desires and disappointments.

Have I seen you along the way?
Have I yet to meet you?
Are you here with me now?
Walk with me, let’s chat a while
And share postcards,
Stay with me
And let’s travel together
In this foreign country of ours.

The Outsider Inside

My guest for today is Sandra Oyeku. Sandra resides in Australia, where she is a teacher. She is highly skilled in working with children, something she has been doing for almost a decade.

Sandra is fascinated by the saintliness of a child’s mind yet acknowledges that this innocence doesn’t remain for long, as life quickly starts to teach, to write….and the reality is very different.

I find this piece to be a mixture of the child’s fantasies and the rude reality, which many of us can identify with.

Enjoy.

The Outsider Inside

“Tabula rasa!”
Many would utter
At birth – the way the mind is –
A clean slate with no shades

But these blue skies with no greys
Looking down on pastures –
Dying wilting pastures
Ration what I have to feed on

They gently sap the life in me
Because I – I am right in their midst.
I’m no coward, yet I cower
How long will this servitude be?

Still, I, full of the sun, give smiles
Bountiful, blessed and bright
Need to keep shining my light
That is my demeanour, banner and pledge

So whatever is, whatever comes
I remain grateful
For my purpose I’ll still be thankful
Until all will be again evergreen

As much as hope shall within me glean
I look outside of me
To find me everywhere
And yet still here