some places around here are so pretty, i wonder that i'm not more in love with the place. just down the road is a small village with a stream running through it. we stood on a small wooden bridge and watched the overgrown plants dangle in the water, listened to the sound of pigeons calling and everything was so peaceful and ridiculously pretty. a white flower came floating under the bridge, and got caught in some grass at the edge of the stream.
england is always going to be my home. not because i feel any pride in it, i don't think where i come from makes me any better or worse than anywhere else, i don't think england is any better or worse than anywhere else. but it'll always be the place i think of as home because it's the only place in the world where the people speak without an accent to my ears; because the letterboxes are red and sometimes inbuilt into walls and houses; because i know the way the hills roll, the temperature of the sea, and i can recognise the birds and plants. i like living on an island, because the sea is freedom, and because if i lived on a huge expanse of land, i would feel like an ant in the middle of a huge piece of paper, no matter how far i walk i'll never get off it. and i like this country because it's the place where i've grown up, it's the place i've had all my thoughts and emotions in so far, and when i go for walks to try and sort out my muddled head, it's england's sky and scenery that provide the backdrop. thats as far as my patriotism goes for this place.
but then again, there's always been a wanderlust inside of me. it was raging a few years ago, but i learnt to subdue it and to hide it, and now it's just steadily simmering under the surface. but thats not to say it doesn't floor me at times, just today i saw some pictures of scotland, and it was all i could do to restrain my frustration and disappointment by shaking my head and sighing. i want to go north. scotland. ireland. norway. canada. iceland. i want to see more sky. i want to be rescued and i want to be taken away, if only for a little while. if only for a day.
1 Comments:
Gday Captain Scarlet,
Was nice to read about your warm-hearted appreciation for England, your home. I feel about Australia in a similar manner, but I have never put my feelings in such a well-worded reflection as you have. Where I live the wildlife here is especially enjoyable. We have about half a dozen wallabies regularly visiting our home, with several of the mums with their little joeys hanging out of their pouches. They can be so funny and gangly, like, there head pokes out with their big link legs sticking out of the pouch above and behind their head. They must be super-contortionists. The birdlife here is unbelievable too, so beautifuly sounding to the ears and the colour of the birds is so striking. Among the many small foraging birds we have the so-cute blue wrens and little fairy wrens skipping about looking for food in the grasses http://images.google.com.au/images?q=blue+wren&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search , and also goshawks and wedged-tail eagles cruising the skies directly out in front of us, at our eye-level, looking for their dinner for the day. There is also a 6 – 7 foot goanna living near the house, it being the daddy of the area. He has several ‘lady friends’ (girlannas?) Goannas are a type of monitor lizard, and may be called lace monitors http://images.google.com.au/images?q=goanna&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search . We watched big daddy, whom we call Gordon (offcourse), stroll nonchalantly up the driveway one day, poor ole fella. Today I saw a very large brown snake, rather threatening though. God’s creation is amazing.
All the best, and remember, if you ever want to satisfy your wanderlust and still be on an island then Australia is a good place to visit.
Poetpete
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