Pages

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:

  1. 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

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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:53 pm

    Very subtle yet powerful poem.

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

    ReplyDelete
  5. "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.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11:33 pm

    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.

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous2:26 pm

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

    ReplyDelete
  10. I often dream of sunshine in Yorkshire ;-)

    Nicely done.

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:22 am

    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)

    ReplyDelete
  14. 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

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

    ReplyDelete

Hi, thanks for leaving a comment! I try to visit everyone back!