Wednesday 2 April 2008

To Blantyre

A rainy day journey to Blantyre –
dull, dreich, mist covered hills.

Lulled by soft voices and motion of travel
I drop into half sleep and dream of the sunshine.

Jolted awake, my senses are staggered,
disjointed awareness of palm trees and hornbills.

On a rainy day journey to Blantyre, Malaŵi*.


*there is also a town called Blantyre in Scotland
Previously published in Poetry Scotland

Regional Poetry for Totally Optional Prompts

16 comments:

Scot said...

ah, dreaming of sunshine. We have a friend from Dundee who comes here once a year--we will find him sitting on a big rock just soaking up the sun

Janice Thomson said...

Love the twist at the end - a jolt to the reader too :) Well done Juliet!

Anonymous said...

Very subtle yet powerful poem.

polona said...

passing the time while travelling doesn't seem much different no matter where you are...
love this one.

WH said...

"I drop into half sleep and dream of the sunshine"--I really like that. This is the perfect vignette that speaks far beyond the accessible description.

Anonymous said...

I really loved this. You took me there. In fact I've read several of your poems before but haven't commented. My hat off to you: your poetry is beautiful.

Noah the Great said...

:D This is wonderful.

Stan Ski said...

I wanted to stay 'asleep' a little longer. Though, when it stops raining, I know where I'd much rather be.

paisley said...

beautiful poetic "round" ... ah to travel.....

Anonymous said...

Your ending caught me by surprise, plus I learned a new word, dreich

anthonynorth said...

I often dream of sunshine in Yorkshire ;-)

Nicely done.

Tumblewords: said...

A rainy day journey...love the way this starts - nice piece!

Andy Sewina said...

You had me going for a moment - palm trees in Scotland? Then I read the last line... Malawi!

Anonymous said...

I love that word "dreich"! Scottish thing innit? Heard it the other day on tv I do love that word! Love the poem too btw ;o)

Gemma Wiseman said...

I can only guess what "dreich' means, but the sound of the word alone is quite evocative.

Lovely lulling sense of dream and then the jolt.

Gemma

Felicity said...

this was lovely. i could feel the rain in your words