Fernweh relief
We're traveling in this issue #181 of your weekly dose of fresh poetry
We can see
the vieux bassin from here.
And the fishing boats. If we stretch our
necks even the Pont de
Normandie.
There’s a beautiful word in German, that signifies the opposite of homesickness: Fernweh. It’s when your heart aches for things that are far away. It’s similar to wanderlust, but more directly opposite to ‘homesick’. The perfect word to describe the desire to travel. However, far is more a matter of mindset than a measure of distance. You don’t have to go far to travel. The world is filled with beautiful places. We recently visited the beautiful old port town Honfleur. It’s less than 2 hours by car from where we live, but it feels like a different world. And just beyond it lie the beaches of Normandy. The famous beaches of the D-Day landings.
Travel is a state of mind. It’s about looking at the world with curiosity, fresh eyes and an open mind.
What is a place near you that we should travel to?
Special Announcement
As you probably have noticed, I made some changes to this newsletter. The weekly Friday posts are unchanged. You will keep receiving them. I have revived the Onchain Poet’s Guide to the Metaverse, which now will be sent out each third Tuesday of the month. The article is free, but there’s a small glossary at the end and an Ask-Me-Anything section in the comments that’s only for paid subscribers. I have also added a weekly creative prompt to build your creative confidence and help you practice your creative muscles on Sunday. This will be for paid subscribers only. Now, free subscribers receive the previews only, but that will go down to once a month. There are two more monthly series in the making, which will be scheduled on Tuesdays. Please use the comments for questions or feedback.
Poésie de la vie
After visiting Honfleur, we travelled along the coast and learned something about history on the site of Pegasus Bridge. The video above is in French, but a great explanation of operation Deadstick.
Poetry elsewhere
A song of many cities.
shows his skill in using rhythm, rhyme and repetition in this beautiful poem Dry Ice:
The poems of Doodleslice are always full of word explorations and turns and often a lot of humour. This one, of which the title is quite the opposite of travelling, is a great example of that. It makes you want to expand your idiom. Enjoy reading I’m Standing… Still:
One of the many beauties of poetry is that it can allow you to travel through time. And place. The poems by
proof this. Many are inspired by art, and through his poems you can travel to the time the art was made, and the scene depicted. This poem, men with brooms, is a great example, based on a beautiful photo. Enjoy:
Honfleur is a lovely town. It inspired me to write about it. https://westonpparker.substack.com/p/honfleur-harbor
I so appreciate the mention Arjan! And to me a minor favourite and perhaps unlikely choice of poem to link to, but it certainly does fit your theme and the idea of traveling to other places.