Where We Are!!

• I cannot believe that I have not reposted this already, since I first posted it nearly seven years ago (June 13, 2013).  I run this poem in my head even today sometimes.  Where am I with regards to home?  I am in transition again, only I have no clue where I will end up this time. I had thought returning to the US when I left it years ago.  Today, little desire remains except some emotional link that i spent a good portion of my youth there, and that was where I learnt to 'jostle' with the world.
• Pictures on this post were taken between 2009-2013 in Thailand, England, Singapore Swede and Spain. 

Where we are (for edward field)

Flamenco Dancer, Cadiz, Spain, 2013.  I was in Cadiz, Spain on an Erasmus exchange for a week and my colleagues took me to this Flamenco club.  i remember one of the men almost crying at some of the lyrics. I can easily understand, I feel the same way about some songs from India.

Karlstad, Sweden, 2010.  My very first semester in Sweden, at Gustav Frdoing's house, which is well maintained and used as art gallery and a party place for organisations.  Its called Alters Herrgård. Alter's (a lake) farm.  That's inside a tree that was carved out from inside, as an art work....

McCafe, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2013.  McCafe's are a European thing.  For all my dislike of fast food, and what they come with many of these places are fancily created and give a sense --that at least some time was put into the design, compared to regular McDees!

Resting, Prayer Room in  Mosque at an airport, Bangkok, Thailand, 2009.  I remember this one like it was yesterday.  I had arrived at the airport in the middle of the night and my friend was supposed to pick me up in the morning. His employee had taken me to this place to rest.  People in transit were sleeping around and there were a few who were sitting with joined hands.  

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand, 2009.  All those who go to Thailand have to visit this place....much history and great beauty.

A bag of te tarik (Indian tea, in a disposable plastic bag) with a backdrop of Singapore’s Skyscraper, November 2012.  Every few years I try to give up tea.  But tea with milk is my comfort food.  And I had been to Singapore in 2010 for work, but in 2012, it was a combination of research and then a few days off.  So, I tried to experience the same old things I had enjoyed. Here is tea with milk, called Te-tarik (fresh tea with milk) against the backdrop of high-rise.  It is served in plastic bags, really hot, but a straw is attached to it as a rubber band is wrapped around the bag.  You can hand the tea to the side of your bag, on your key chain or simply dangle on your finger.  I understand we should reduce the use of plastic but paper cups are just as bad.  I would prefer Kullar, but this one seemed a good innovation for a busy city like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). I just love Asia!

Nottingham Eye, January, 2011.  I had gone there for some work and at night went out for  a walk.  And how can you miss these big markers. 

Nottingham, January, 2011

Nottingham, January, 2011 (Another view).

Nottingham, January, 2011 --England smells more of India than certain parts in India....

Nottingham, January, 2011 --England’s love with curry and Indian food is written all over...9500 Indian restaurants in London alone....

where we are (for edward field)

I have loved this poem since I heard it over a decade ago at 9 am, in State College, on NPR.  Garrison Keillor's voice still rings in my ears--

Deep, slightly gruff--' I am talking about hope'.

At the time I had just moved back to State College from Clarion to continue working on my grad school.  I loved State College so it was like coming home.  I was just as lost as I am now.  But for a short time I felt at home.  And there was a sense of hope, a goal.

Years later, I cannot say that i have two homes, I have none, and yet a piece of my heart has been left behind in so many places.  I present this poem here to share it with the readers, but also for me to be able to locate it --on demand!!
And I dedicate this to a friend who, along with his wife is returning to the US at the end of the summer.  I hope he is always returning home, whether he is in Sweden or in the US!!

by Gerald Locklin

Friday, 22 June 2001
Listen (RealAudio) | How to listen

Poem: "where we are (for edward field)," by Gerald Locklin.

where we are

i envy those
who live in two places:
new york, say, and london;
wales and spain;
l.a. and paris;
hawaii and switzerland.

there is always the anticipation
of the change, the chance that what is wrong
is the result of where you are. i have
always loved both the freshness of
arriving and the relief of leaving. with
two homes every move would be a homecoming.
i am not even considering the weather, hot
or cold, dry or wet: i am talking about hope.