POSTCARD FROM  HOME

THE WORLD AT MY FINGERTIPS

On bitter, dismal winter days

when I am craving Summer's rays

I'd be inclined to journey East

and join a Tuareg wedding feast

and hope that they may share with me

their dates and thick, sweet eghale.

In Spring the Silk Road beckons me,

with new, exotic sights to see.

From Beijing now by camel train

traversing mountainous terrain

to the middle of the Bogda Peak

where I may bathe in Heavenly Lake.

In Summer Africa entices

me to Zanzibar for spices

the balmy South East Trade Winds bear

their heady perfumes in the air.

On market stalls rich colours blaze

and tempt me with their sweet bouquets.

In autumn there's one place to be.

New England's treasure beckons me

with scarlet, purple, red and gold

no lovelier sight could I behold.

Then sated by the beauty there

I'll sink back, deep into my chair.

Next year the Kingdom of Bhutan?

or Java, Fiji or Milan?

The Northern Lights in cold Alaska?

Perhaps I'll settle for Nebraska!