I travel east, away from the setting Sun
And into subterranean darkness.
Tomorrow, I shall be further east
Than I have ever been, in a country
I have long known of but never known.

When I was born, there stood
An Iron Curtain between me and
This mysterious land. As a child
I watched it rust and crumble until
Only a memory remained. As an
Adult I will see what was once
Forbidden to my western eyes,
Just as many from the other side
Have seen the land I know.

I still fear the unknown: I am
So used to knowing where to go
And what to do that I have
Forgotten how to learn. Perhaps
This is adulthood; the secret challenge
That was never revealed to us
As children.

Alas, I have become through laziness
The kind of tourist I always
Disliked. The idea of communicating
Through friends and ten year old
Memories destroys my desire
To communicate at all.

But my nature is always to
Make the best of everything; to keep
My eyes open to the good things
And deal calmly with the bad.
I can but hope that I am not
One of those people who transforms
Into a monster away from home.

With the Sun now well beyond
The horizon, I am in the dark
In more ways than one.

10/16/2008

Posted on 11/08/2008
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince