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The journeys.
The Earth is round. And I slid down meridians and rode the Equator carousel. First — European streets with shutters on windows and the smell of garlic and wine; Paris sunshine, filtered into glory by prismatic Notre Dame windows. Hedgerow rabbits in English countryside where I went seeking Avalon. Amsterdam canals. Cerulean Greek seas. Mediterranean sunshine liquid on my skin. Old mountains worn down by time. The scent of snow on prescient autumn mornings. Hyacinths in secret gardens. And later — lions drowsing in the wilderness. Tall grass. Wide African sky. Heraldic geckoes clinging to walls, banana trees, the sleeping poison of snakes dreaming with open eyes. Distant drums, the Indian Ocean breakers thundering on ancient sand. Water in the desert, making the cactus bloom through white bones on the dunes. Death and life, as always. Shells that speak of ocean to the ear and the heart. Sweet wine. Caveman paintings on rock walls. The roar of traffic. Snapshots. My worlds collide. Zulu warriors with assegais step out of huts woven from grass, and change into Chanel-suited Parisiennes, and change into half-remembered mythical shapes riding horses borrowed from the Apocalypse — and change into familiar faces always waving always waving goodbye. Goodbye. Another journey yawns to welcome me, always searching for home. [Ed. Note: Sixth part of a 10-part poem. « Beginning | « Previous | Next »] · · · · · ·
Alma Hromic, the author with R. A. Deckert of Letters from the Fire, was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. Trained as a microbiologist, she spent some years running a scientific journal, and later worked as an editor for an international educational publisher. Her own publishing record includes her autobiography, Houses in Africa, The Dolphin's Daughter and Other Stories, a bestselling book of three fables published by Longman UK in 1995, as well as numerous pieces of short fiction and non-fiction. Her last novel, the first volume of a fantasy series, Changer of Days: The Oracle, was published in September 2001 by Harper Collins. Hromic is an essential member of Swans. She maintains her own Web site (with Deck Deckert) where she provides information about her work and the professional services she offers: ButterknifeBooks.com Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this poem on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work without the expressed written authorization of Swans, which will seek permission from the author. This material is copyrighted, © Alma A. Hromic 2002. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. |
This Week's Internal Links
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Alma Hromic on Swans
Essays published in 2002 | 2001
On the Anniversary (September 2000)
Subject: Into Myth (September 2000)
Sadness in Novi Sad, Serbia (April 2000)