Sun rays through the clouds
hit the ocean at an angle
creating an island of light
upon the vast horizon.
Ocean waves crash
and bring an icy breeze ashore
guiding the seagulls
and chilling me to the bone.
A stray dog waits in the sand
for a passerby to notice
and throw him a bone
before the night falls.
And I,
a most unnatural occurrence
perched here on a ledge,
watch as the world unfolds.
[8.20.07]
[Calle Paraguay: Antofagasta, Chile] Photo by SocrateSoul © 2007
It seems like just yesterday
I was standing there
at the top of that hill
with the mountains at my back
and the ocean on my horizon.
The air was dusty
and pregnant with a small town’s stillness.
When I got there
I was out of my element.
Foreign words.
Foreign sights.
Foreign feelings.
But at some point it became my home.
Down the hill every morning.
Up the hill every breezy afternoon.
I came to know the man at the corner store,
the soccer player across the street,
the gang of stray dogs who ran my block.
And they came to know me as well.
“Hola, Miss!”
I was enthusiastically greeted
and eyes followed me every place I went.
Curious strangers.
Sympathetic neighbors.
Affectionate teenage pupils.
I was warmed from the inside out
as I sipped my tea
and conversed with my host-family
of all the day’s happenings.
What a strange and wonderful feeling
to be accepted by this other world.
I knew it would hurt to say goodbye.
That evening
I stood there again at the top of the hill
saying my farewell.
This time they were all around me,
the mountains
the ocean
the streets
the school.
They seemed to swarm me,
begging me not to go,
and I felt my heart ripping from my chest
as the bus drove off into the night.
Yes, a part of me will always be there.
Maybe even the best part of me.
For where I’m standing now,
with sky-scrapers at my back
and no view of the horizon,
it is now, more than ever,
that I am completely
out of my element.
[City Skyline: Chicago, IL U.S.A.] Photo by Phil Velasquez © Chicago Tribune
