poetic journeys: aït-ben-haddou

Aït-Ben-Haddou

This is I who stood
     on a scatter of carpets 
     in a mudbrick Moroccan home
     and studied a poster of our guide
     when he was an extra in Gladiator.

This is I who climbed
     between the ksar's mud walls
     hung with carpets and Berber
     jewelry, amidst silver teapots
     and parchment camels 
     painted with green tea, 
     indigo, saffron, 
     and sugar melted over a fire.

This is I who never played 
     a game of thrones 
     yet ascended to grand heights  
     and gazed over the realm 
     of kasbahs perched beside 
     a parched river,
     while a ferocious wind attacked
     with stinging darts of sand.

This is I who wandered with a Catholic
     priest through this Muslim village,
     a holy man in tourist clothes 
     who fingered textiles
     with rosewater-scented fingers
     and said mass each morning and night
     with his mini-wine bottles 
     and compact chalice.
     He was an aging bodybuilder 
     covered in tattoos, 
     a gladiator of sorts,
     enchanted by this film-set village, 
     this mocked-up Kingdom of Heaven.

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“POETRY” Invitation: I invite you to write a poem of any poetic form on your own blog about a particular travel destination. Or you can write about travel in general. Concentrate on any intention you set for your poetry.

One of my poetry intentions for my trip to Morocco was to do a cluster diagram about a day of travel in a town:  From the cluster, write a poem starting with “This is I who…” using particular details of the culture and its food, natural settings or customs.  Use the power of perception to come up with a new perception. I found this prompt in Writing Personal Poetry by Sheila Bender, p. 119.

You can either set your own poetic intentions, or use one of the prompts I’ve listed on this page: writing prompts: poetry. (This page is a work in process). You can also include photos, of course.

Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, December 5 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, December 6, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, on the first Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community.  I promise, you’ll be inspired. 🙂

• Jude, of Travel Words, tried her hand at an Erasure Poem and created a poignant moment between a mother and daughter.
  • October Squares | Day Thirty-One – Visiting Time

Thanks to all of you who wrote poetic posts following intentions you set for yourself.