Travel Theme: Land Meets Water

I love the travel themes provided by the fun travel blog, Where’s my backpack? I don’t always participate in the weekly themes, but some I find inspirational. This week the theme is about the meeting of water and land. I have lived by the water most of my life. Right now I live in a land-locked area, so maybe that’s why I find this week’s theme so compelling. I miss living by the water. Here are some of my favorite water images from around the world.

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Tobago, looking north over the island

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The view of the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean from the top of the Empire State Building, New York City

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The Oasis in the desert at Huacachina, Peru

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Looking out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Port Townsend, WA. You can see the outline of Canada in the hazy horizon.

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The Mediterranean Sea crashing into the sea wall at Xania, Crete

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The Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas on a beautiful, golden morning.

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Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong Island

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Flamenco Beach on the island of Culebra. It is a small island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. And yes, that is a rusted old tank sitting on the beach.

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The Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy

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Santander, Spain

There is something so soothing and magical about the intersection between land and water. Even stormy seas crashing into the coast make me feel happy to be alive, witnessing such a glorious site. Here’s to coastlines whether big or small!

Concrete Poetry, Without the Concrete Part

To be honest, I really struggled with trying to come up with an idea for a poem that made sense to me also as an image. I came up with nothing. So, I decided to work just with the enjambment and animal prompt ideas. My little girls love unicorns. When they were really little “The Last Unicorn” was one of their favorite movies. We took them to see the tapestries at the Cloisters Museum that were the inspiration for the story. If you haven’t seen them, I highly recommend taking the time if you are in the NYC area. The Cloisters is a small branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art located up by Fort Tryon Park in Inwood. There is a bus that goes from the Met up to the Cloisters. Taxis sometimes have a difficult time finding it.

"The Unicorn in Captivity" courtesy of www.metmuseum.org

“The Unicorn in Captivity” courtesy of http://www.metmuseum.org

And here is my poem, inspired by my daughters and their love of the unicorns.
In ancient tales, men searched far and wide for the elusive
UNICORN
Tempted forth from family and home by the power
of her horn
Only virtuous maids, both noble and good, were sought out by this beast
Their sweet, pure souls would call them forth, as one starving to a feast
While in present day, the unicorn lives
only in stories and in myths
Seeking the virtues of the maid and beast are a noble, worthwhile
quest
Once a search that throughout the world wandered far and wide
A different journey greets us now, one that dwells inside