You! Men of nature!
Pack light, wear your shoes right.
I want us to go to Iceland, and there
We would want us to absorb every sight.
There is not much here in her cities,
People in funky garb and with colorful hair,
Only counter the oddities and the fallacy,
That of the buildings best described gray, if not bare.
Leave them! Men of nature, we belong elsewhere
In those strange lava fields, don’t they absorb footsteps well?
The heaviness of your boots, the coldness of your breath!
Let your vision restore and perspectives widen.
We are of a different kind we are,
We seek solace where there is none,
In the chaos of nature and in its life abundant,
We thrive on essentials, not on its creature comforts.
Take with you, your blisters and your crud,
Walk with me through the wanton fault lines,
Splatter yourself amongst the mist of basalt waterfalls,
Amble with the sheep and the strange horses thereabout.
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| Waterfall to a river to a see |
There is so much strange beauty here, so much wonder,
Can your eyes even gather the dramatic grays?
The black beaches, the turquoise lakes!
Through volcanic boulders and craters, we wander some more.
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| Journey to the center of the Earth starts here |
Does it at all matter, your moist armpits?
The growing stubble on your face, the haggard wear!
Our vanity is with nature, of Icelandic proportions,
We are of the Viking kind, us men of nature.
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| Lava field walking is entirely soft |
Lumber on, drag those ankle-high shoes and brace that wind
Over that ledge, will only then, you will see
Something that you almost never can forget,
And that you are in Iceland is only entirely appropriate.
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| How close can you get? |
Far behind, lies a massive glacier,
Just ahead, they appear like magic, white and blue icebergs
And they gather quietly, melting in the evening sun,
Floating, drifting harmlessly into the wide open Atlantic Sea.
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| I am not dreaming |
We are at peace here; the white of our eyes is cleansed,
The crisp air and the delicious Icelandic water is everywhere.
Take time to stop and ponder, men of nature.
Perhaps even steal a wink when the sun temporarily disappears
I am drawn here, to its innumerable waterfalls
To the permanency of rainbows that hovers above
And the insane gushing of voluminous water,
The brutality of nature in a non-confrontational way!
Rest your tired souls, if you will,
In hot calcium baths, ignoring the rotten egg smells,
The callouses on our feet are just rewards,
In a land that much beyond compare.
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| resting wanderers |
It wasn’t a dream, you were wide awake,
We are men of nature, not much can be said,
There are no souvenirs to take, no pictures to share,
But rather a craving for nature, overwhelmingly well-fed!
Excellent piece of art 🙂 I'm guessing this is Iceland.. I saw glaciers too not so long ago in Alaska 🙂
Hope you are having a nice summer..
Hi Jasmine, this indeed was Iceland. a magical land of a lot and at the same time, barren.
Having a good time here. Perhaps traveling too much but not complaining!
Good poetic work. Well written.