Wednesday 15 April 2015

M is for Maverick...and Millay





Millay, Edna St Vincent (1892-1950)

An American poet, Edna St Vincent Millay is known for some of the most beautiful form poetry written in the twentieth century.  Here I have used her poem Travel as my prompt. 



Jericho Walls



Rail stations, likewise harbours and piers,
small, throbbing boats moored at the bank,
the last of the contrail as the jet disappears,
and taxiways that sleepy blue lights flank;

the din of departures, and of packing up;
the sound of small wheels on aerobridge floors -
the sparking of this sudden, explosive love
for the roads, and ruins, and open outdoors.

I too am warm within the Jericho walls
of homes and hearts, unresisting thresholds;
but every whistle, all departure calls,
the blare of foghorn ferries in the cold

flatten them and feet vault onto the courtyard
when the express passes, or a jet is heard.







Every time I pass a railway station, an airport or a long distance bus terminus, I always have a moment of insanity when I just want to drop everything and hop on. Not exactly practical. Do you like to plan your holidays well in advance? Or do you leave it till the last minute and take a chance?






Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2015





9 comments:

  1. I'm a planner, but yeah, there are moments when even I want to just take a trip to wherever.

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  2. I'm a planner, too, and plan every detail. But I will make a decision on the spot if I'm actually in the location and something appeals. I'm not the type to trust to fate in all things. With travel, I prefer to call the shots.

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  3. Like D.G., I"m a planner, or I put hubs to work on the computer then he shares his wisdom with me. But when we hit the road, we do a little spontaneous side stepping. We've been caught too often by our pre-planning when we'd like to spend more time in a place, or less time too, hahahah.

    Hope you're enjoying the challenge Nila. I'm playing catch up today. Still on hols though so not doing much except fb and editing the odd paper I get sent.

    Denise :-)

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  4. I know that feeling you mention, the one where you just want to hop on the train and GO. Thank you for visiting my blog. Happy A to Z!

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  5. Hi Nila - I usually plan, but there's always spontaneity along the way - and I usually want to have another visit to see the places I enjoyed again and take more time.

    I've linked across today to your comment re the pilchard film at Falmouth ..

    I really enjoyed the poem .. I'd like to drop everything now and disappear to explore more of the world .. cheers Hilary

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  6. If I had some extra cash I would do more spontaneous traveling.

    Stephen Tremp
    A to Z Cohost
    M is for Movies

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  7. Hello nice to meet you. I like being spontaneous, but after the kids were born we had to start planning...

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  8. I love the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay. An interesting question you ask. I have recurring dreams that I'm supposed to go on an extensive trip but am no where near ready and the plane is set to leave shortly. Very frustrating!

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  9. I love your poem, but I think I love the title even more!

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