TRAVEL TUESDAY 496 - FESTIVAL IN FABRIANO, ITALY

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.” - Pablo Picasso

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Fabriano is a town and comune of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at 325 metres above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley 44 kilometres (27 mi) upstream and southwest of Jesi. Its location on the main highway and rail line from Umbria to the Adriatic make it a mid-sized regional centre in the Apennines. Fabriano, with Roma, Parma, Torino and Carrara, is an Italian creative city (UNESCO). The town is in the category Folk Arts and is widely-known for its production of handmade paper.

Fabriano appears to have been founded in the early Middle Ages by the inhabitants of a small Roman town 5 kilometres south at Attiggio (Latin Attidium), of which some slight remains and inscriptions are extant. In 1276, Fabriano became one of the earliest places in Europe to produce paper. Since the 13th century and even today, the town has a reputation for fine watermarked paper. This led to Fabriano's prosperity in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and was also one of the factors that led to the establishment of nearby Foligno in Umbria as one of the earliest printing centres in Italy in the 15th century, from 1470 onwards. 

Fabriano's wealth and commitment to the fine arts in the late medieval period have left it with many monuments. Handmade paper-making courses are popular, festivals and special exhibitions and activities are organised regularly throughout the year, and many artists find it a fascinating city to explore.

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WHAT'S GOING ON? "RUIN"

“Life and death are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor.” ― Homer

After a long period of absence, and having found this site again; Hello, old friends and fellow writers! I have been busy, but I am well. I hope you are all in fine form and it is good to virtually interact with you again. I am joining you this week to take part in the prompt “Ruin”.

This poem has been inspired by Greek Mythology and comments on the ruin caused by earthquakes. Enceladus was a Giant, the son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky). During the Gigantomachy, where gods and giants fought for supremacy to rule over the universe, the gods won. Enceladus was defeated by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and thrown in the depths of earth, imprisoned deep in the rocks. However, Enceladus every now and then tried to escape and to shake off the mountains that held him captive. Whenever that happened, earthquakes occurred on earth.

PS: Just in case you are interested, in my absence I wrote a novel, “The Nursing Home”. More about it here.

Enceladus

Enceladus

Sleeps and his slumber’s sound –

His usual napping underground

Untroubled by dark horses…

His languor soothing mighty forces.

The frightful Giant sleeps

And his vengeful hand he keeps

Relaxed, at ease, unmoving;

His mother, Gaia, looks on approving.

His eye starts to move and roll;

A muscle twitches, then his body whole.

He turns and tosses, quite disturbed

A nightmare gallops in, fury uncurbed.

The Giant wakes, his tail uncurls

His mane of wild hair shakes and swirls.

He roars, and arms he stretches

The rocks above him crack, the ground retches.

The earth is split

Ground quakes.

A deep dark pit

Opens, soil shakes.

The houses crumble,

Walls crack and break –

His roar a mighty rumble,

Destruction in its wake.

His sleep disturbed, his pain

Anew awakened, goads him,

And his rage in frustrated strain

Exhausts. His injured limb

He stretches, and Gaia above

Him shudders; her mother’s love

In sympathy making her cry

His pain and suffering decry.

Up, down, and side to side

The ground is turned to jelly;

As Enceladus tries to hide

Deeper in his mother’s belly.

Ruin complete and utter devastation

Above him death and trepidation –

(Athena victory forswore)

All this, revenge enough for

Enceladus…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 495 - VARNA, BULGARIA

“I would like travellers, especially American travellers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective.” - Rick Steves

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Varna (Bulgarian: Варна) is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a major economic, social and cultural centre for almost three millennia.

Historically known as Odessos (Ancient Greek: Ὀδησσός), Varna developed from a Thracian seaside settlement into a major seaport on the Black Sea. Varna is an important centre for business, transportation, education, tourism, entertainment, and healthcare. The city is referred to as the maritime capital of Bulgaria and has the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy and merchant marine.

In 2008, Varna was designated as the seat of the Black Sea Euroregion by the Council of Europe. In 2014, Varna was awarded the title of European Youth Capital 2017. The oldest gold treasure in the world, belonging to the Varna culture, was discovered in the Varna Necropolis and dated to 4600–4200 BC. Since the discovery of the Varna Necropolis in 1974, 294 burial sites have been found, with over 3000 golden items inside.

City landmarks include the Varna Archaeological Museum, exhibiting the Gold of Varna, the Roman Baths, the Battle of Varna Park Museum, the Naval Museum in the Italianate Villa Assareto displaying the museum ship Drazki torpedo boat, the Museum of Ethnography in an Ottoman-period compound featuring the life of local urban dwellers, fisherfolk, and peasants in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The city beaches (also known as sea baths -морски бани, morski bani-, are dotted with hot (up to 55°С) sulphuric mineral water sources, used for spas, swimming pools and public showers. Small sheltered marinas are also found along the coast.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 494 - WEGGIS, SWITZERLAND

“It's tough to find a place not to like in Switzerland.” - Michele Bachmann 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Weggis is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It forms part of the northern shore of Lake Lucerne. The official language is German. After Lucerne, Weggis is the second biggest tourist destination in Canton Lucerne. With the aerial tramway one can arrive at Rigi-Kaltbad, in the neighbourhood of which is located Viewpoint Känzeli. From Rigi-Kaltbad one can continue his climb up the mountain on the cog railway (Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn). Weggis is also designated the “Riviera of Central Switzerland” because of its “tropical” climate.

Weggis is a place of indulgence and relaxation. With a Mediterranean climate and fantastic views of the lake and mountains it is a place to unwind and to be pampered in a wellness hotel on the Central Swiss Riviera. A boat trip to the Rigi or Lucerne is very enjoyable.

In 1932, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff purchased land on the lake at Hertenstein, near Weggis to construct a house, naming it “Villa Senar” based on his and his wife's names. He lived there until the outbreak of war in 1939. In the comfort of his own villa, Rachmaninoff completed his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” in 1934 and “Symphony No. 3” in 1936.

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MY NOVEL: "THE NURSING HOME"

"There is no old age. There is, as there always was, just you." - Carol Matthau

In the densely built up suburbia of Melbourne's outer West, surrounded by a high wall, is the large oasis of "The Golden West" Nursing Home. A beautiful, large garden surrounds sumptuous period buildings of great charm, with excellent amenities, caring staff and a charter to provide the "best possible care for seniors who are used to the lifestyle of the well-to-do".

A cavalcade of memorable residents, carers, administrative staff, relatives and friends, all confront the problems of old age with varying degrees of success. All seems to go well, until a series of deaths amongst the residents puts the Director of the Home and his staff in a difficult situation, and threaten the serenity and restfulness of this microcosm that reflects society outside the walls.

Love, hate, envy, deceit, compassion, selfishness, altruism, guilt, religion, atheism, dreams and harsh realities, all the stuff of life and death, are laid out in a procession of humanity's common concerns.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 493 - FANN MOUNTAINS, TAJIKISTAN

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” - John Lubbock

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

The Fann Mountains (Tajik: Кӯҳҳои Фон, romanized: Kúhhoi Fon) are part of the western Pamir-Alay mountain system in Tajikistan's Sughd Province, between the Zarafshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south. In an east-west direction, they extend from the Fan Darya to the Archimaydan River. 

The Fanns boast about a hundred peaks, with several rising to altitudes of more than 5,000 meters and relative elevations of up to 1,500 meters. The highest point in Fann Mountains is Chimtarga peak (5,489 m). Other 5,000-meter peaks are Bodkhona (5,138 m), Chapdara (5,050 m), Big Hansa, Little Hansa (5,031 m), Zamok ('5,070 m), Mirali (5,132 m), and Energia (5,120 m).

There are many lakes in the Fanns.The best known are Alaudin lakes in the Chapdara River valley, Kulikalon Lakes on the northern slope of Chimtarga peak, Big Allo Lake and Iskanderkul Lake. There is a stunning mountain range in Western Tajikistan, near the city of Punjikent, which surprises tourists with its vivid, ever-changing colours. This are known as the Seven Lakes, Haftkul, or even Marguzor Lakes. In Tadjiki it means seven lakes (named after the largest lake in the group).

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 492 - BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN

“If each city is like a game of chess, the day when I have learned the rules, I shall finally possess my empire, even if I shall never succeed in knowing all the cities it contains.” — Italo Calvino

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Bukhara is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents as of 1 January 2020. It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long served as a centre of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara, Emirate of Bukhara and later Bukhara People’s Soviet Republic. It was the birthplace of the scholar Imam Bukhari. The city has been known as "Noble Bukhara" (Bukhārā-ye sharīf). Bukhara has about 140 architectural monuments. UNESCO has listed the historic centre of Bukhara (which contains numerous mosques and madrasas) as a World Heritage Site.

The region of Bukhara has a long and storied history that dates back to the ancient Silk Road. As a crucial trading hub, Bokhara was a melting pot of various cultures and influences, resulting in a rich artistic tradition that continues to this day. With the region's deep roots in trade and commerce, the craft of rug-making flourished in Bukhara. Rugs from this region are known for their distinctive Tekke design, named after the Tekke tribe of Central Asia. This design typically features a rich red base colour with repeating oval or diamond patterns. Bukhara rugs are usually made of wool, known for its durability and warmth. The knotting technique used is the Persian or Senneh knot, which allows for intricate detailing in the designs. The knot density of these rugs can vary, but they are generally very high, resulting in a plush, velvety feel.

Uzbek craftsmen nowadays still practice ancient jewellery-making techniques for cutting gemstones, grain filigree, granular work, engraving and enamelling, also they are trying to take into account fashion demands and styles. Embroidery is one of the most popular applied arts in Uzbekistan. Every city of Uzbekistan has its own unique features such as ornamentation, composition, colour range and stitching. The finest kind of embroidery, gold embroidery is still practised in Bukhara.

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PROSE/POETRY

“Remaining childish is a tremendous state of innocence.” - John Lydon

Poets and Storytellers United has prompted us this week to write a piece that is poetry in prose, or vice-versa. Here is my offering.

The morning sun shone brilliantly and his warm rays caressed the earth with the love that has been forever.  The dew-drenched land and the lambent cool sea vied for his affections, each one wanting to ensnare the sunshine, outwitting the other in the sharing.  The frothy wave crests caught the sunlight and broke it into a myriad cascading fragments, which in their turn crashed upon the strand creating long tongues of serpentine agility, licking the sand smooth before returning whence they came.  Mirroring the sky, the ultramarine depths of the sea seemed indifferent, unusually calm and still, as though unaware of the goings-on near the shore.

Amidst the rainbow clumps of coral and the verdant meadows of the depths there was a Child.  A dark-haired, honey-skinned, bright-eyed imp of a Child whose laughter reminded one of crystal bells.  It lived there and spent its time playing with the giant shells, the multi-hued fish of the deep; catching the stray sunbeams that escaped from the tight embrace of the sea surface and plaiting them into translucent chaplets of light and hope.  Thus did the Child of Light live amongst the fish, the shells, the lush underwater gardens.

For many years it was content, living amongst its childhood companions, enjoying the friendship of a little crimson starfish, its constant playmate.  The Child was happy in its simple life, rejoicing in its ignorance, its needs all seemingly fulfilled.  And yet one day, the laughter stopped and innocence lost the game to knowledge.  The Child was growing and as it began to become aware of the world surrounding it. In this new-found knowledge it discovered that something was lacking from its life.  It did not know exactly what, but still its childhood companions, the games and playmates abruptly grew tiresome and inadequate for its new needs.

Happiness gave way to melancholy, light-heartedness to moroseness, and gaiety to long periods of reflection.  Slowly the Child perceived itself to change and the Child of Light became the Child of Darkness.  Gone were the days of sunshine, rainbow colours and coralline remembrances.  Instead came nights of sleeplessness and phosphorescent imaginings, of desperate evasions from the woeful, sinuous enticements of the anemones, all observed with wicked amusement by the baleful eyes of the medusae…

TRAVEL TUESDAY 491 - ZAANDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

“To provide meaningful architecture is not to parody history but to articulate it.” - Daniel Libeskind

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Zaandam town centre has been radically revamped on the basis of an urban development plan by Sjoerd Soeters. Soeters reinstated the historical street layout, reconstructed an urban waterway and reintroduced atmosphere into the somewhat impersonal and dull town centre, employing magnified stylistic features of the historical Zaanse Schans village. The plan by Soeters incorporated a new hotel, the Inntel Hotel Zaandam. This can be reached by a quick and efficient 15-minute train trip from central Amsterdam.

The hotel, which stands on the Provincialeweg, is definitely the new centre’s eye-catcher. The building with 160 rooms and a conference complex was constructed in part on a viaduct. The colossal, twelve-storey-high hotel tower, essentially square in plan, is a monumental stacking and interpretation of various green-painted house types typical of the Zaan region, ranging from a stately notary’s dwelling to worker’s cottages. ‘The Blue House’, inspired by the work Claude Monet painted at Zaandam in 1871, is the ultimate attention-grabber. The overall result is striking. The varied fenestration, broad protruding sections and bay windows, and decorative white ridge-pieces lend depth and an expressive relief to the façade.

Wilfried van Winden, the architect, was born in Delft on 24 November 1955. He studied architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), graduating in 1987. He co-founded the Molenaar & Van Winden Architecten bureau in Delft in 1985. Van Winden left this practice in January 2009 to establish a new, independent bureau WAM architecten. Besides his design for the Inntel Hotel, Wilfried van Winden's major projects include the Essalam Mosque (2010) in Rotterdam, De Oriënt residential complex (2011) in the Transvaal district of The Hague, and De Marquant residential development (2007) in Breda.

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FIRST LOVE

“A first love always occupies a special place.” - Lee Konitz

Poets and Storytellers United has prompted us this week to give a piece related to the “firsts” or “lasts”. Here is my offering.

The Fall

How can I describe how I felt

When first I was with you?

Think of a desert traveller’s

First thirsty gulps of water

At the well of the oasis.

Think of the first spring flower

After a long hard winter;

The bright, gold, glorious morning

That follows a storm raging all night long;

The island green and gold

In an exhausted castaway’s eyes

Amid the endless sea.

Think of the way a seedling feels

When first it breaks through

The cold, dark earth.

Think of the tears the deaf man shed

When first he heard a song

With new-found hearing

And the heart that snapped with joy

When the blind man

Saw the rainbow for the first time.

This was how I felt

When first I was with you

And all this was my trembling flesh

Trying to tell you

When your cool fingers

You first extended in a light caress.

Ah! Then the birds sang to the wind

And the sun teased the waves,

As the froth amused itself

On the shifting sand.

The rosy collared seashell’s lips

Curled upward, inward

In ever diminishing microcosms

Becoming filled with more and more detail.

We spun on sand,

While seahorse galloped in the depths

And sea and sky vied to be more than blue:

Azure, ultramarine

Deep peacock smalt, cerulean,

Aquamarine, blue-green and verdigris.

The sun, he whipped us with his lash relentlessly

Each blow resounding as if on cymbal struck,

And on we spun, floated ever on,

Expanded filled our universe

Merged with the infinite

All in a seashell on a sandy shore.

And then,

I fell.

Forever seemingly,

In black abyss,

Accurséd Tartarus.

And then I fell,

And then I woke,

Clutching your fleeting shadow

In a sweat-drenched sheet.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 490 - MT OLYMPUS, GREECE

“When one with honeyed words but evil mind Persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” ― Euripides, ‘Orestes’

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος, romanized: Ólympos,) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa and Pieria, about 80 km southwest from Thessaloniki. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks and deep gorges. The highest peak, Mytikas (Μύτικας Mýtikas), meaning "nose", rises to 2,917.727 metres and is the highest peak in Greece, and one of the highest peaks in Europe in terms of topographic prominence.

In Greek mythology, Olympus is the home of the Greek gods, on Mytikas peak. The mountain has exceptional biodiversity and rich flora. It has been a National Park, the first in Greece, since 1938. It is also a World Biosphere Reserve. Olympus remains the most popular hiking summit in Greece, as well as one of the most popular in Europe. Organised mountain refuges and various mountaineering and climbing routes are available. The usual starting point is the town of Litochoro which lies in the eastern foothills of the mountain, some 100 km from Thessaloniki.

Taking the opportunity today to direct your attention to the Greek entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It is sung by Klavdia and is called “Asteromáta” (Starry-eyed one). It’s a beautiful song and Klavdia has a rich, expressive and lucid voice. The song is about loss - loss of loved ones, loss of one’s homeland and loss of all things that one holds dear.

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THE CRUELLEST MONTH

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”― T.S. Eliot

Poets and Storytellers United has prompted us this week to give a poem related to the first line of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land: “April is the cruellest month”.  Here is my offering. Remember I am in Australia and April here is the middle month of our Autumn.

Winter Harvest

Standing on the brink of April
Waiting for the signal
That will send me down its yawning depths;

Poised on the fork of Autumn,
Waiting for the pallid dawn of Winter solstice
That will send my heart a-roaming yet again;

Balanced on the cutting edge of crescent moon
Waiting unmoving, for a single word of yours
That will let the sickle slice cleanly through my soul.

A word can heal, a word can kill;
Your word can make my darkest Winter, warm Summer
And what you say can make my Spring, a frigid Fall;
Speak softly, say your word,
And I will harvest either a rich bounty – or else dry, poisoned chaff. 

TRAVEL TUESDAY 489 - ATHENS, GREECE

“The basis of a democratic state is liberty” - Aristotle

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

The prominent equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a key leader in the Greek War of Independence of 1821, is located in Athens, Greece. The statue is situated in front of the Old Parliament House (Constitution Square), a location that underscores its historical significance. The statue was sculpted by Lazaros Sochos.

The statue commemorates Theodoros Kolokotronis, a prominent leader in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The statue was crafted in 1895 and installed with great ceremony on April 23, 1901. The costs for the erection of the statue and the celebration following its unveiling were raised through a pan-Hellenic fundraising campaign, which started in 1877. There are many other statues of Kolokotronis in Greece, including one in his birthplace Ramovouni, Messenia.

The celebration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 (Greek: Εορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821, Eortasmós tis Ellinikís Epanástasis tou 1821), less commonly known as Independence Day, takes place in Greece, Cyprus and Greek diaspora centres on 25 March every year, coinciding with the Feast of the Annunciation. The day is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus.

Usually, celebrations include parades and other celebratory events on the same day or its eve. The largest event is the military parade in Athens on 25 March, while on the previous day, celebrations take place throughout the schools of the country. In other municipalities parades of military divisions, students, clubs, etc. are held, as well as church services.

More broadly, the holiday acknowledges the successful Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) was fought to liberate and decolonize Greece from four centuries of Ottoman occupation. After nine years of war, Greece was finally recognised as an independent state under the London Protocol of February 1830. Further negotiations in 1832 led to the London Conference of 1832 and the Treaty of Constantinople (1832); these defined the final borders of the new state and recognised the king, King Otto of Greece. The holiday was established in 1838 with a Royal Decree by King Otto's government.

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A LOVE POEM

“I am hurt by love But how can love hurt? If my love is true I cannot be hurt.” - Anshul Gupta

Some years ago I read the poem “Love's Paradox” by Anshul Gupta (see here). It stayed with me, although forgotten, and it was only after I wrote my own poem below that I remembered Anshul Gupta’s poem again and re-read it. Different but similar? This poem is in response to the prompt by Poets and Storytellers United.

Love

I love you with the vehemence of sharp steel,

The blind insistence of a blade as it drives itself into yielding flesh.

My love for you, wild like the tigers of the Indian jungle,

All sharpened claws and piercing teeth.

I adore you blindly like the idol of a jealous god, gold-bedecked

Sitting on pagan altar on a forgotten isle.

I love you with the gentleness of falling rain,

The persistence of water as it soaks deep into earth.

My love for you, as tame as a newborn puppy,

Whimpering, blind and helpless.

I adore you as I would a precious icon that adorns my wall,

Reminding me to pray each moment for your well-being.

And as you come to me like a caravel laden with precious cargo,

Spices from the Indies, perfumes of Arabia, gold and jewels

And ebony from some exotic shore – 

I am diminished and yearn to yield myself to you,

To enchain me to your sovereignty for evermore.

And as you come to me naked and unadorned,

Redolent of sweet perfume that the flowers have borrowed from you,

With soft uncombed hair whose lightness is stolen by the breeze,

I seize you and enraptured I overcome resistances,

Ravishing, conquering, enchanting and in turn being bewitched.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 488 - MILOS, GREECE

“Venus de Milo. To a child she is ugly. When a mind adjusts to thinking of her as a completeness (even though, by physiologic standards, incomplete), she is beautiful.” - Charles Fort

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Milos or Melos (Modern Greek: Μήλος, romanized: Mílos, Ancient Greek: Μῆλος, romanized: Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwestern-most island in the Cyclades group. The Venus de Milo (now in the Louvre), the Poseidon of Melos (now in the NAMA) and the Asclepius of Milos (now in the British Museum) were all found on the island, as was an archaic Apollo now in Athens.

Milos is a popular tourist destination during the summer. The municipality of Milos also includes the uninhabited offshore islands of Antimilos and Akradies. The combined land area is 160.147 square kilometres and at the 2021 census the population was 5,193 inhabitants.

The position of Milos, between mainland Greece and Crete, and its possession of obsidian (a volcanic glass), made it an important centre of early Aegean civilisation. Milos lost its arms-making importance when bronze became the preferred material for the manufacture of weapons, instead of obsidian.

While Milos is a lesser-known island within the extremely popular Cyclades archipelago, it has grown in popularity as a vacation destination in the past several decades. With its traditional Greek architecture, slower pace compared to Santorini and Mykonos, and its various excellent beaches, it provides a relaxed, sun-drenched, family-friendly and hospitable holiday destination.

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RENEWAL

"Words are the source of misunderstandings" - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, ‘Le Petit Prince’

This poem of mine is part of the Poets and Storytellers United meme: “I do not think it means what you think it means”.

Renewal

Even if Winter’s cold will burn the blades of grass,

The roots beneath the soil abide their time,

Their sleeping juices waiting for the call of Spring.

Grief and black melancholy may overtake us,

But if the heart still beats strong, there’s hope

And life will ease the sorrow.

Even if flesh is cut and blood is lost,

The living force within the tissue swells,

It heals, it scars, regenerates the damaged parts.

The cheap betrayals, all the petty squabbles,

Will wash over a generous soul that still believes

In human goodness, kindness, love.

Even if leafless twigs look dead, covered in snow,

The swelling buds throng with green energy

And the promised flowers await the beckoning of longer days.

Separation, long silences, lost intimacies and misunderstandings

Will all evaporate, as the renewed bonds are forged,

Now stronger than before.