We have all been through months and months of difficult events and conditions, from COVID to impeachment, from job loss to natural disaster. Who doesn’t long for escape?
And those with a few years under their belts may long not only to enjoy again, but also, to have the the energy to enjoy everything thoroughly! I hope you will enjoy my poem, wishing on a star for better futures for all of us. Thanks for coming by to read!
The draft of sleep I long to drink;
The balm of peace, to smooth
Upon my irritated skin,
My wrinkles to remove.
The juice of youth, the jolt of life
Shall course within my veins,
No longer timid, faced with strife,
Nor crippled by my pains.
I’ll see the dawn, miraculous!
I’ll see the sunset, sweet!
I’ll gaze upon the blinking stars,
Their magic to entreat.
I’ll sail the seas and chart a course
Adventurous and new,
And gather round an open fire
To celebrate, with you.
What keeps me here? What drives me forth?
What won’t I dearly give?
What wakes in me primeval forces,
Begging me, to live?
It fills you, too. I see it.
And I gladly take your hand
So come away, oh come away!
And fearlessly we’ll find our way,
To Future’s foreign lands.
Copyright 2021 Andrea LeDew
For a short short story on the theme of imprisonment read Escape Room. For an homage to the ashes of Notre Dame, read Fire Escape.
Round Two
Thank you for this poem of hope and encouragement!
So glad to oblige, Liz.
This one was my meager attempt to parallel the spirit of the poem by Robert Louis Stevenson “Foreign Lands. ”
I am trying to capture the same sense of awe and wonder and wanderlust and envy, and the same fantasy of escape, from a condition of trapped helplessness.
Only mine is told from an older person’s point of view. And perhaps (let us hope!)it is not quite as fantastical as toys coming to life. Although the Velveteen Rabbit may beg to differ. 😊
Here’s the poem from A Child’s Garden of Verses:
https://www.lnstar.com/mall/literature/rls/ForeignLands.htm
Thank you so much for providing the link to the inspiration poem. Yours and Stevenson’s are defintely in the same spirit but from different stages of life. And of course A Child’s Garden of Verses is a favorite from childhood. I still have my mother’s beautifully illustrated copy from the 1930s.
Mine was a ninteen seventies edition with yarn illustrations as i recall.
Available on Etsy for $36! https://www.etsy.com/listing/745951240/1969-big-golden-book-a-childs-garden-of?
I didn’t see the one that I have, although I’m sure someoneon Esty or eBay has listed it. Here is a blog post I wrote that includes a scan of the cover and one of the illustrations: https://lizgauffreau.com/2018/02/14/february-doldrums-the-land-of-counterpane/.
Very much enjoyed your post. It reminded me of the transporting quality of so many of those poems. Back to childhood that is. And how wonderful to share them with children!