Homesick

[hillwalker]

HOMESICK

and even after all the flak
foolhardily I still go back
a criminal returning to the scene
must be my salmonellid gene
a barb of embryonic memory
a tether to my tapered tail,
that snagging lure
my kin endure
this nagging hate
I gladly bear its dragging weight

H

[Delta40]

Hillwalker that was powerful written. i love the salmonlid gene! I really felt the chains of family coupled with the yearning for it

[Jerrybaldy]

I sometimes think Hill that there are two types of poetry on here (I don't know why I said that as I hate all sentences that start there are only two types of.....) But yours belong in the actual poetry file. I hate dumbing down of all things, but reading this and other entries by yourself and Prince and others makes me feel that is my space here.
Words with real weight well written and I seek the dictionary again.
If respect is possible in cyberspace I have it for you.
regards
Jerry

[dafydd manton]

Funny, that. I've just been printing off some of my favourite poems, for my own pleasure without having to log on, and two gentlemen who feature heavily are....... Don't worry, no breaches of copyright! I just like having original stuff to read.

[dafydd manton]

Hiraeth?

[Hawkman]

Doughlas Adams commented on the power of homesickness, the farther you are from home, the more powerful it is. I wonder though, where is home? Is home some intangible memory of an imagined past or a physical location. Perhaps it is a person. Then again, it is sometimes just a sense of origin and belonging. Without roots we are truly lost.

I like this, hill, it takes me somewhere, but I can't remember where...

H

[Jerrybaldy]

The instituion have a reservation...

[Hawkman]

do I have to bring my own tipee?

[angliholic]

HOMESICK

and even after all the flak
foolhardily I still go back
a criminal returning to the scene
must be my salmonellid gene
a barb of embryonic memory
a tether to my tapered tail,
that snagging lure
my kin endure
this nagging hate
I gladly bear its dragging weight

H

Thanks, Hillwalker, for sharing this homesickness tinged with grief, nostalgia, and yearning. There are many powerful analogies in your poem.
I've been haunted by my own homesickness for a long time and tried to turn it into words but in vain! YOu're really great at this masterpiece!

[lallison]

Nice bit of self expression, Hill. I can definitely relate. I think there are many who can.

[PrinceMyshkin]

On the other hand, there's this epigram composed by one of the characters in my first novel:

You're never so far from home as when you're there,
It's often especially moving to me when a poet, such as you did here, states his or her case boldly, without adornments or milking the conceit. A moving and graceful poem, Hill. Thank you.

[hillwalker]

@D40 - your allusions to 'chains of family' are what I had in the back of my mind when I wrote this - kin being a magnet that can attract and repel in equal measure

@Jerry - I would say there are as many types of poetry on here as poets who post their work - don't belittle your own contribution because we all learn from each other

@Daf - 'hiraeth' - well hand on heart I would have to say not (in my case).
But there are many Welsh poets who think differently.
T H ParryWilliams wrote a wonderful poem that roughly translated starts off :
: 'What do I care about Wales? It's only by accident and fate that I live here'
then proceeds to list all the negative points about the country and its people before concluding
: 'God forgive me, for I can't escape the place'.
Although born and raised in Wales, from the first time I ever came to Scotland I knew there was something here that would always pull me back - (but my family are still in Wales - hence the reason for writing this poem).

@Hawk - perhaps we share the same uncertainty about what 'home' really is

@angliholic and lallison - I'm pleased you found something here to give you both pause for thought - I think anyone who leaves their place of birth will always yearn to return regardless of the consequences behind their departure

@Prince - thanks for your kind words as ever, sir - that epigram is so true in my case......

H

[dafydd manton]

Some cynic once described "home" as "the place you hang your head". Maybe there's something in that. I fully understand how you feel - I've never been able to identify with one particular place, and still don't. Odd, isn't it?

[Bar22do]

You inspired me with your poem here... look for an echo in a thread I'll start shortly... but in the meantime, thanks for touching (with your usual Art) upon a theme that occupies my mind so often... Bar

[hillwalker]

And thank you for reading it Bar - I shall look forward to your lyrical response