An accounting of where here and there actually is

December and the squeeze of family
         berating me for my endeavours. I am a foolish boy,
         too filled with hormones and joie de vivre
                       to ever make sense of obligation.

Why do you say I dream too much?
Surely, this is all we are: dried blood upon footsteps
                       scarpering up the shelves of Tongariro.
         You remember how it took four hours to get up,
         and only two to get down. You remember how breathlessly
                      bored I was, awaiting the rest of our party.
         There I was, a wasp, a termite, a disbelieving stranger
         amongst tourists. There I was, afraid
                       to go home.

It's December and I am in flux. In January, it will be
                        much the same. In February, I could be in Fiji,
          notwithstanding the political mess between our two countries.
Here is where my home is: between bulb and stamen
and freshly turned earth. Here is where my heart is:
                        between wave and fin and underwater infernos.
          Here is where I start to believe
          in playing this game. Here is kauri and moss
                        and the stretched canvas
                        of forgotten oblivion.

Reviews

[Snuggles McClintock]

yay! a winter poem....there is something so bleak and hopeless about those span of months. you did a good job here is conveying the sentiment that living in the bleak is actually a triumph. also, loved this line:

"Here is where my home is: between bulb and stamen
and freshly turned earth. "

this seems to be a hallmark of your work, everything working up a genuine insight, then inverting it to another insight. Poems this well tailored are hard to find here. thanks for sharing

[LJW]

Here is where my heart is:
between wave and fin and underwater infernos.
Here is where I start to believe
in playing this game.

Ooh, I love that part the most.

This just rolled off my tongue. Very unique work.

[The Message]

This is a great poem. Not sure there's anything to say that Lori missed, but seriously... great job.

[W.k.kortas]

The imagery is strong and inventive, the pacing just about perfect. This is top-drawer, quality writing.

[Lori]

This is a brilliant poem. It has such an unforced philosophy, and really shows the feelings behind the question that most of us just supress in modern life: Where do I belong? We mostly have the freedom to move around more today, which is a good thing, but it leaves some people with a feeling of being neither here nor there. This poem makes the reader stop and take that breath to try and quell the restlessness or anxiousness. Oh and besides all that....scarpering is my word of the day.

[Gandré]

Here is where my heart is:
between wave and fin and underwater infernos. -----OH I LOVED THIS EXPRESSION

I ADORED THIS POEM!!

[Emily B]

Here is where I start to believe. Not there, not over beyond what is known. But here. You gathered me up and carried me off with you in this one, Jason. Your voice is so magnetic.