Poetry + Travel = Inspiration
The bride with her short veil
And tiara decorated with a tiny
Penis that we hope, in a moment of solidarity
Is not to scale
Her friends, BFF in fact all from
Their home town or the local
College
Surround her in the public car
they talk loudly
Of resting bitch face (making the face)
new bras (poking one another in the breast)
the cost of grocery bags (up to 5P, 10 P if you want a really good bag
they agreed they really wanted the good bags
possibly with an attractive designer logo)
Peals of laughter
over the bras and bags
they declared to us, the hapless fellow passengers
they haven't even begun to drin
they were already drunk- on now
on what was ahead
on the speed of the train.
Inspiration: A bus ride, even though a train is more romantic.
I had loaded onto a local bus with my elderly (traveling with my elderly mother, who dictates the pace of our travel) tour group (Grand Circle Tours) to ride from Guiell park back to our hotel close to The Rambla de Catalunya. I ended up completely surrounded by a group of exuberant and hilarious British young ladies here to party. I ran into a number of younger people down from the northern climates to enjoy the warmth, food, and wine of Spain.
The girls were, they explained,, not even yet drunk, although that was next on their itinerary. Over one shoulder I could see the pursed lips of some of our tour ladies. So loud, so irreverent! Yet I love them, so alive, so enthusiastic, so full of life.
That’s why I wanted to use the train metaphor, the idea of our lives racing ahead, we can’t see the conductor, all we know is the next stop, we aren’t even sure of the final destination.
When our guide announced our stop, and all the tour group groaned to a standing position, one of the young ladies commented – oh yes now it’s the old person’s stop.
I grinned as I exited along with the rest of the group.
She leaned over and exclaimed, “Oh, but not you!”
