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STAY RIGHT HERE

by W. Mahlon Purdin

I wonder sometimes if I'm so isolated
That I lose out experientially.
I mean those camels, those pyramids,
That Eiffel Tower, that Lenin's Tomb.
But then I watch you falling asleep
On the couch and think of the days just past
Driving, measuring, moving furniture,
Hanging curtains, painting touchups,
Going for pizza (not for me)
Talking with our daughter all day
Thinking of what my day was like,
I doubt it.
It might be nice, but in an odd Thoreauian way
I think it might be distractive. So many new
Things to factor there than here, in fact,
Here I can concentrate on things.
Plus I do get out and about, six states,
Ten towns, shopping at Whole Foods,
I average around 11,000 miles a year
Just around here. I know a lot of people,
Which makes life fun, and I still have long, long
Periods of working alone, singing alone, and
Writing alone to satisfy the soul.
So going to Fallujah or back to Vietnam,
Maybe taking one of those river cruises
Down the Bassac again,
Or maybe I could go back to Australia sometime.
Or maybe visit my sister in Wales
For the first time in 40 years.
But when one is happy where one is
It means something.
And I'm going to stay right here
Until I figure that out.

02/18/2013

Posted on 03/10/2013
Copyright © 2026 W. Mahlon Purdin

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Clara Mae Gregory on 03/12/13 at 09:14 PM

Happiness is where the Heart Lives. *Stellar*

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