Andante
By J.D. Smith
Arkansas to Ayres Rock or Azerbaijan, the journey begins and end with the self,
But meeting with the new and strange, in Bhutan or Birmingham, entices us to run that
lap
Circling the eternal verities by way of Calistoga, this time, as we address
Demons in Denver and defeat them at last, or renew their acquaintance in Dubai.
Even Evanston and Everett, with the same stores as everywhere, can be exotic, if nothing
like
Florence of the Medicis (maybe Flagler’s Florida),
Gathering our thoughts into new folds, as would going to Gabon or Guam.
How does the water taste in Honolulu or Houston, and what makes it strange to our taste?
Identity is formed/forged amid—or against, Illinois, India, Ithaca.
Jakarta could make one feel, more than ever, Japanese.
Kazakhstan’s steppes, and the grassy throes of Kentucky, test the self without a
confirming crowd.
Like London or Lusaka, or Lvov’s center city, but moreso,
Manhattan causes one to wonder if that self can survive the mash of masses. As does
Moscow.
Norway, neither Nanjing nor Nunavut, might be the golden mean, though
Oaxaca has inspired its share of odes, if not Orlando, and one man’s Oslo is another man’s
Paris or Plattsburgh, preferable to Princeton, let alone Punxsutawney (yet should we?).
Queens and Queensland beg for a quest unless they are home and status quo—
Reach Rehoboth or Rennselaer, then, revel in Ruthenia or a ryokan.
Saddle up for Seattle, one of the Sebastapols, or Sioux City,
Take Tallinin, then Toronto by their next-to-tundral horns.
Ululate in Uppsala, Utah, Uxmal.
Venus lies beyond our reach, but not Vienna, Virginia or Vlachokerassia.
Wallachia is two connections from Woonsocket, for what it’s worth.
Xenophilia may greet us among the Xhosa.
Yellowknife beckons, even Yemen and Youngstown.
Zacatecas, here we come—to learn, in new accents, our ABCs.
——
J.D. Smith has published two collections of poetry, and in 2007 was awarded a Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts. His first children’s book, The Best Mariachi in the World, was published in bilingual Spanish and English editions in 2008. For more information visit http://jdsmithwriter.blogspot.com.
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