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Hello Poets, Hello!
This weekend and the next ten days are celebration times!
Our youngest is graduating a Bachelor of Science. From his ceremony, we are driving to the graduate school where he will earn a Masters. We then drive home so that my husband and I can pack and get to the airport to take off for a week in the Netherlands.
Our travel in Europe is my favorite sort. My husband is meeting people at a convention and I get to be a plus one! Yes, I have tickets to an art museum and a boat ride on the canals of Amsterdam. And yes, I will find a coffee house to sit in and absorb the energy of the atmosphere.
When I return, there are just two and a half short weeks until the end of this school year. I've been eagerly anticipating this celebratory time for a while...and now it's here!
A little travel poem.
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| My little airport notebook |
Solitude
Ooooh, my husband says on the other end of the phone line, such a long day of traveling. I know, I know…I’ll be alright. I don’t say how much I love reading and writing in an airport. On a layover, I walk all the way up the hall of gates, and all the way back. I locate the coffee places, the restrooms. Then, for extra deliciousness I find a spot amid a bunch of strangers-- families scrolling on their phones, a woman finishing her lunch. A man asleep in the lounge chair. Hallelujah! there’s a spot open at that far table. I arrange my backpack at my feet, take out a hot pink notebook and pens: green, blue, purple, violet, red. I spend hours writing, crossing-out, scribbling, sketching
I’m just colorful words in a Be Bold notebook.
Linda Mitchell 5/16/25
Many thanks to Ramona at Pleasures from the Page for hosting our Poetry Friday Round-up this weekend.
I love how you’ve taken one of the frustrating aspects of travel (waiting) and made it luxurious writing time! Have a fabulous trip. You deserve every minute of it.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I understand this line from your blog: "I lose myself in the pure pleasure of output". I am glad that you had moments of solitude to write in the airport. Have wonderful trips to your destinations.
ReplyDeleteI love how you take inventory of all the wonders of travel, that block of time outside your regular activities where there is time to explore your thoughts for hours! Travel can be hard but your poem names all the benefits. Have fun preparing for your trip!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Excited for you and your son. Have a fabulous time in Amsterdam. I like your positive outlook and productivity during airport layovers. :)
ReplyDeleteLinda your poem and have-at-it attitude make me 😊 and fill me with wonder and anticipation, what a grand way to get caught up in this chunk of time! Enjoy the graduation and congrats to all, and have a marvelous time in Amsterdam! My daughter was there last year and hope to visit in the future...
ReplyDeleteHappy for you and your deliciously bold adventure!
ReplyDeleteThe pure pleasure of output! What a gift you were given with this time in the airport. I love how you shared the colors of the pens and the variety of forms your writing took. Enjoy your trip! And congrats to your son.
ReplyDeletethe pure pleasure of output sums up the process of writing so perfectly. It is said that if a writer wishes to be out there, they need to spend time out there, and your poem captures that truism so comprehensively. Such wonderful immersive actions, Linda and so succinctly captured. Writing as a harvesting experience.
ReplyDeleteI love everything about this post! What a way to lean into travel and enjoy all its aspects! So many lines popped in your poem for me, but I especially loved these three: "I’m just colorful words in a Be Bold notebook.
ReplyDeleteCouplet after haiku after tanka after paragraph after list
I lose myself in the pure pleasure of output. " Congratulations on all the ongoing celebrations and have a wonderful time in the Netherlands! (We have a soft spot for Amsterdam as we got engaged there and a few years later started our honeymoon there as well!)
Linda, your poem perfectly expresses the reasons I don't mind a layover in an airport (although traveling with young kids was a different story, lol.)
ReplyDelete"I lose myself in the pure pleasure of output." Yes!
I LOVE your notebook too!
Have a fantastic time in the Netherlands — how exciting!
"the pure pleasure of output" - what a wonderful way to describe your experience. Have a wonderful and safe trip! And congratulations to your son.
ReplyDelete