A 6 in 1 poem collection! Every place in Victoria Island is special in its own unique way, and all are really good poem subjects. So, read on, and I hope you enjoy it. I called it "Many Winds" because one thing which every place has is wind, and that is the symbol I used to differentiate the six different places.
Many Winds
I
Silver, foam-tipped waves
Gently caress the stones of the harbour
Falling, growing, ebbing, going higher
Ships dipping and rising on each swell
Here the wind is kind
It strokes the treetops and the water
Touches the white stone buildings
And fills the bleached sails of the grandest ships
And through the skies a song goes on
A song not sung by human voices
A song made up by the harmony
Of flowing winds and dancing silver waves
Such peaceful seaside harbour
The air here is calm, almost magic
Everyone is captivated by its spell
By the rising symphony on the ribbons of wind.
II
The merry dance of the breezes in the sky
Fills the town with joy
It makes the leaves flutter, carries them away
Lightly over roofs of the village
The place is happy, it sparkles with laughter
The stone-laid paths are bright in the sun
Every garden is a picture of life
Painted in the shades of lush green, white and red
And the lively market is abuzz with talk
Of traders, merchants and people out to shop
The ring of coins and shouts of men selling wares
Fills the currents of cooling wind
Happiness is at the very core of this village
Every leaf and crack and stone seems to smile
Even the joyful sun is not too bright
And the winds are not too strong.
III
Vehicles roar by on the tar roads
Blowing out clouds of fume as they go
Shiny bodies zipping past
In a blur of colour and noise
They move on in straight lines between buildings
The tall structures reaching into the sunset sky
Antennas and spires piercing from their tops
Into the windless, smoke-filled air
There is no chance for silence here
Everything happens so fast
Without a gap, one thing after another
People working through their daily routines
All this speed and noise and bustle,
All the lights and sights and sounds
Overwhelm the senses, there is no rest
In this urbanised city, where smoky wind blows.
IV
Steep mountains, deep valleys
Wreathed and cloaked by mist
The veils of white dance around the rises
They swirl thickly round the rocks
The winds are like whips
Tearing mercilessly at the rocky mountains
Stirring dead leaves into the turbulence
Sending mists swirling like smoke
Danger resides in every step of the way
Uncertain footing could lead to death
Creatures live here, all almost unknown
The danger is ever imminent in this terrain
Yet, the mist-wreathed mountains
Are picturesque, a painting of light and shadow
What other place could yield such dangerous beauty?
None, but the craggy peaks of the mountain range.
V
Squirrels skipping from branch to branch
Leaves shaking in their wake
Dewdrops hanging on each one
Showering down in a rain of glitter
The sunlight dances between them
And filters through the green foliage
Like magical rays of light
Pouring down onto each leaf and flower, turning it gold
The air is sweet, a soft breeze
Stirs the leaves and petals of the flowers
And it is cool, in the shadows cast
By the towering, century-old canopy
It is like a cathedral in this forest
The walls formed by the grand old trunks
The roof a beautiful, an ancient leaf-green
And the echoing sighs of the breeze filling the air.
VI
Darkness. Shadow. That is all there is here
The trees grow tall, leaves dense,
Their trunks wound round by old vines
The branches too many to count
The ground is damp, after decades of sunless days
The air is cold, windless, devoid of warmth
Shaded from light by layer over layer
Of black leaves and tangles of branches
But sounds? The place is alive with sounds
Beetles scuttling in the leaves of the forest floor
Geckoes climbing through the maze of branches
And stranger creatures, living in the deep shadows
So much the forest hides from us
Thousands upon thousands of unseen mysteries
Nothing ever finds its way through the branches
Not even a trace of wind.
Yeah, what did you think? I liked (personally) the last one. If you hadn't guessed, it's about Sleepywood.
I started writing it at the Bangkok airport. :)