Tag Archives: Travel

Juxtaposte

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A low-angle photograph taken on the Cape to Cape Track in Western Australia. The image shows the silhouetted outline of native Australian shrubs and bushes against a wide, overcast sky. The photo's quiet, observational quality sets the scene for the poem, which juxtaposes various moments and observations from the walk.


it happens that
Lady Gaga plays
Do What You Want 
as I drive pass
retreats Seventh Day Adventist
and Anglican in turn

(featuring R. Kelly [Explicit])

 

with ped on pedal
at a constant 90
that moment ticks faster
in an instant of klicks
than the driver’s wit

(debating adjectives)

 

24 hours later
turning onto Smith’s Beach
footsore from first legs
it happens that they drive pass
2 white haired grannies
gleefully lick magnums
in a white elantra

(incongruous)

 

*walking the Cape to Cape Track

Days 0 and 1

 

 

 

Rape Seed

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A bee, its body covered in pollen, perches on a cluster of brilliant yellow rapeseed flowers. The background is a soft, sun-drenched blur of the same golden hue. This image, titled "Rape Seed," captures the intricate relationship between pollinator and plant, a "seed" of life and growth, while evoking the controversial naming of this plant and the duality of its beauty and its historical association.

Consumption

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The lesson from history and nature is

adapt and survive

It is roots in rock

eking spare moisture
from minute fissures in time
to pry the jagged jaws
too thirsty yet to ever stand
closer than several cracks apart

It is fleshy welwitschia

named mirabilis
reputed to live
two full millennia
with just two leaves and
elephants about to shred them for dinner

The lesson from history and nature is

to love the feast
to love it fully
to await it humbly
to expect it
never

Palmweg Concession, Namibia

December 2013

first published on salt.org.sg

sink

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A dramatic, vertical photograph of the Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica Cisterns) in Istanbul. The image captures a long tunnel with vaulted brick ceilings and a series of columns reflected in a large pool of water on the floor. The space is dimly lit by warm, reddish-orange light that creates a striking glow and a long reflection. The title "sink" plays on the literal sense of the water-filled space, while also suggesting a metaphorical "sinking" into the depths of history and the architectural marvel of the underground cistern.

built beneath basilica
for khans and kings
to funnel drink
to store snow
centuries ago
long before freon
savouring summer cocktail
with turkish delight

what think
the two medusa heads
upside down
and layabout
of recent developments

gone primetime
as thrilling locale
in Dan Brown’s latest book?

Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica Cisterns)
Istanbul

thumb

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after the sun has set 
the tide receded
the speedboat moored
our gadgets stored
the things of man
and those afore
retired
retreated

a modern lamp
combines with
timeless sand
to cast this print

A close-up, high-contrast, black-and-white image of a patch of sand, illuminated by a single, focused light source. The texture of the sand is sharply defined, creating a pattern of small ridges and depressions that strongly resembles a human fingerprint or thumbprint, alluding to the post's title and its exploration of the human 'print' or mark on nature. The light casts a shadow that emphasizes the intricate, repeating patterns.

Lateral Thinking

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belly pork

layer cake

dawn crack

day break

A photograph showcasing distinct horizontal layers: a textured expanse of turquoise water at the bottom, topped by a thin, bright horizon line, above which stretches a vast, dark blue-grey sky filled with heavy clouds. The composition emphasizes these stratified layers, mirroring the theme of the post suggested by phrases like "layer cake" and the concept of "lateral" perspectives, where different levels or aspects are considered side by side. The image evokes a sense of depth and the interplay between different atmospheric and aquatic strata. This photo was taken in the Maldives.

Foam Bath

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Best Foot Forward

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A close-up photograph of a Pacific Reef Heron, a type of grey heron, standing on a sandy shore or beach. The bird is poised on one leg, with its other leg missing, creating a striking and poignant visual that plays directly on the post's title, "Best Foot Forward." The mottled grey feathers of the bird are in sharp focus against the soft, blurred background of the water's edge.

Blood-lines

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DSC00538Coming into Windhoek

underwing
the lazy rust of
blood-stained sheets
left too many weeks
dry-aged

everywhere you look
there’s inspiration enough to entitle
a season of Mentalist episodes
I entertain a Hollywood plot
a tragic crash
untimely end
our blood and guts
spilt Chinese lacquer
seeping into copper

rather too fanciful
I admit

were we truly to fall
grey metal mote would be all
barely denting
dusky damask

Skyscrape

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A vertical photograph of a skeletal, dead camel thorn tree (Vachellia erioloba) with gnarled black branches, standing starkly in the cracked white clay pan of Deadvlei, Namibia. The tree is centered against a backdrop of undulating, rust-red sand dunes, with a dramatic, overcast grey sky above.