Small World

Paul Bress, UK

SMALL WORLD

Where have I been?
Where haven’t I been, more like!
Argentina, the USA, New Zealand. Shall I go on?
I can if you like.
God, I could tell you some stories
In fact, telling stories is what I do.
Yes, rarely does a day go past without me
Regaling someone about what I got up to here, there, anywhere.
You should see their mouths gape open
As I tell them about far-away lands,
Strange tongues and stranger habits.
Their eyes pop open, poor lambs,
Imagining places
They themselves will never see.

Am I charmed?
Perhaps I am.
But (there’s no doubt about it|)
I’m leaving my mark
Making a difference
Spreading the word.
Thank God, there are people like me
People with principles
Orbiting the planet
For human kind.

Of course it would be good
If others could travel like me
But would they really like it?
Be able to see what I see?
Tell the stories I do?
Best keep things as they are, eh?
And let me live in my
Small world.