My Collection of War Zones and Other Disasters

like I have said before, some words speak for themselves ..

My Collection of War Zones and Other Disasters

 

I am no stranger to war zones

   or natural disasters ..

I once drove an old green VW

through the streets

of Beirut, across Syria and on

to the Lebanon

     

 for a laugh and sheer hell of it ..

All safely wrapped,

   in a camouflaged aid package

I hasten to add ..

I also hit, New Orleans only

a matter of days

   after Katrina had hit harder ..

And I saw with

my good eye, through smoke,

the temple

of the tooth, still blazing away

   not long after

the Tamil Tigers left it in ruins,

to rot and decay ..

And yet, while I remain loathe

to reference the

aftermath, of that last Bentota

tsunami, because

a whole bunch of dear friends

drowned in it ..

I hereby confess, the Ukraine

and the earthquake

in Haiti, were no picnic either ..

And whereas

I am far from ashamed of them,

or my time in Africa ..

When possible, I avoid sharing

the fact, I still allow

   

   my wife to book all the gigs for me ..

 

 

 

Author's Note

these days there seems little point

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

This poem speaks to me of a man who clearly enjoys adventure and travel at heart. A life well lived as well as one of helping others who are less fortunate. I do try to stay away from war zones and disasters, although I make a point of keeping in the know. The ending did generate a smile. If you aren’t good at IT, I can understand you taking advantage of your wife’s skills at booking the travel arrangements. After all you wouldn’t want any disasters there. I mean there’s a whole lot of difference between visiting the Ukraine and Russia. Make sure you check your tickets carefully before you fly :))

Chris

[Neville]

I do love travelling Chris and I am quite partial to the occasional adventure .. it seems you read me so well .. am glad you could chuckle at my reliance on my wife to sort all the admin stuff out, its not that I am hopeless at IT, it's that I find it so tedious .. and anyway, I think her indoors enjoys trying to find the most dodgy place .. she once booked me a place on a hopscotch tournament which later turned out to be nothing but a minefield .. (only kiddin) .. Am currently thinking about one last stint at Tanka Tanka Hospital in Africa .. Ta for taking time to check in Chris ..

Neville :)

[Thomas W Case]

Wow. Powerful. You make this come alive.

[Neville]

Funny that Tom, I've been thinking for some time now that the missus is trying to tell me something .. cheers, Neville

[Betty Hermelee]

Very interesting Neville, I am a travel bug as well...although slowing down now....we visited Luxor right after 50 tourists were killed...yes they had many guards with guns after that attack...then we went on a Mexican train ride shortly after a Swiss tourist was gunned down..if you love to travel abroad, then your heart leads you to wherever....I'm not ashamed either...sh*t happens and we all know it...
Warmly, B

[Neville]

Cor Blimey Betty, it seems we not only have a lot in common but the world is smaller that I thought and coincidences happen all the time. I too was holidaying in Egypt at the very same time. If you are referring to the horrific massacre of 62 individuals at Queen Hatshapsut's Temple in November1997 then I was there only a few days before .. I have narrowly missed several other tragedies while holidaying. Those that I have tried to wrap in a poem were not holidays, but rather more to do with my work as a volunteer .. Yeah' sh*t happens all too often, doesn't it .. Go safely & warmly, Neville

[Betty Hermelee]

YES the Luxor attack! 1997! life is full of tragedies, but we must go with our own lives, regardless…..
Warmly, B

[Neville]

my goodness me .. but how write you are Betty ..

[Betty Hermelee]

very clever!!