In every waking moment, I seek the wretched past
Sleeping and dreaming seem to be a blur
I want an escape from the chaos of my mind
But let me tell you a rhyme nonetheless

The shadows of the incoming evening cool the forest
Like lights glinting through the trees in Ranthambore
Hunters with their rifles and bruises
Have the tiger in their sights, I am silenced with the muzzle

Like the blind, we tracked our way
I am free knowing this day
We followed the jackals and nilgai, out we went
I am veering at every shot, alive, as the raven quiver

Now my lips are shaking and trembling
My heart rushes with its warmth slowly ebbing away
It pumps dreams into my bloodstream, raising itself
Until I am shattered, scrounging for the illusory past

I am filled with regret, maybe I am unable to express
If you read this through and through
You know the power of hunger and desperation
Let's just say I played the cards just like you

I am grateful that I took it easy on myself
Life and sleep seem to be a blur
In a land where the people are blind
I am glad I can see now, where I went wrong

My mind has closed in itself
I know I will miss my Ranthambore
My childhood will miss the search
I will miss it all but I am glad I lived through it all

If I was a king of Asia I would give you all the gold there is
But I'm not even prince of Persia, all I have is love and dreams
Let me show you land of legends, land of honeymoon and rising sun
I am not as rich as Ali Baba, but I promise we'll be having fun

I'll take you to Bali the gem of Java Sea
Then we'll go on to safari a little south of Abu Dhabi
I'll take you to Maldives to swim in coral reefs
We'll enjoy the sweet papaya on the islands of Pattaya

I'll show you lake Baikal, Tibet and Taj Mahal
We'll see Macao, Yokohama, Hanoi, Jeddah, Jaipur, Jakarta
I'll take you to Dubai, Dushanbe and Mumbai
We'll spend some starry nights in yurts near the city of Yakutsk

I’ll take you to Tashkent where melons got their scent
We will taste all sorts of apples in the city of Almaty
I’ll take you to Beirut we'll go nuts on dried fruits
And the coffee with vanilla we can try it in Manilla

I'll take you to Kashgar to shop at old bazaar
Then we'll fly a magic carpet to the markets of Qatar
We'll see ruins of Karakorum the old capital of Moguls
Then we'll go to Kathmandu and then Karachi and Kabul

We'll discover caves with treasures, make three wishes all at once
All at once will turn to a fairy tale, like in one and thousand nights
Let me show you feast of colors, take you cross the dunes in caravans
Even if I don't look like Alladin, I sure know a thing about romance

I'll take you to Taipei to see its lovely bay
We will sip on Coca Cola on the silky sands of Goa
I'll take you to Shanghai where towers touch the sky
And the best of architecture we will see in precious Petra

We'll go to Ashgabat, Bishkek, Busan, Baghdad
We will see Great Wall of China and Cambodian Angkor Wat
We'll see the Everest, mount Fuji, Gobi Desert
And it's certainly my pleasure to take you all around Asia!

Like buying Irish tea bags in the 'World Food' aisle
I like to take my jeopardy close to my native Isles

I do buy silky underwear, but only M&S
- trying something sexier will only cause me stress

I stick to those experiments with familiar ingredients
You'll never mistaken me for some sort of deviant

I like to take my journeys only slightly off track
I like it when the menu includes a Big Mac

Don't judge me for my caution,
you’ve no idea what it's like
when my mother keeps on telling me,
cosmopolitan is hype

For some freedom is a goal never achieved
but only dreamt,
for some, it is the adoration of an idealism that is placed on a
pedestal to remain forever just a symbol...
But for the wild and untamed it is the very breath sharply taken in
at majestic beauties beheld with a loving eye,
for the wild and untamed freedom is the heart unbound and adventuring
in the many fold wonders of the world...
I see in you such a wild and untamed soul,
be that freedom's torch that sets fire to those souls that yearn and dream...
be that freedom that lights the way
©2022 Junor

A new path has started to etch itself before me
and I find myself reflecting on my journey and how it used to be
I’ve committed my whole life to this dream
but looking back it’s the only path I’ve stayed true to it seems
I’ve sacrificed so much to be here
But what is a dream without conquering some fears?
Or suffering through pain and shedding some tears?

I don’t know if the aching of my heart is a requirement to fulfill dreams or if it’s just the aftermath of it all
But I won’t let anyone see and I’ll keep standing tall

Because I know looking back that the turmoil endured has helped be grow
and has taught me not only to go with the flow
But to forgive those who tried to shatter my passion that clearly shows

So, thank you to everyone that I’ve met along the way
There is so much you’ve done for me every day
and despite the pain some of you have caused
It did not cause me to hesitate or pause
but rather push forward even harder
toward this dream of mine

So, here’s to my next adventure.
I know it’ll be so much to endure
But if i’ve spent my whole life chasing you
I’ve got nothing to lose.

He might stop and dream of ponds
To sit and play with forever eve:
He might sit with trees till summer's day
Or maybe swim with many fish
Or touch the sky with his geese
Maybe he'll play with spiders nigh
Or creep along with midnight bugs
On his road might he run—
With stray cats that nightly come
Or sit along with navy trees
And dance along the flowers fun
Might he chat once with a moon
And ask it why it shines so white
Or talk with grass why green it grows
Or talk with spirits all through night.

Which way the wind blows
Why the night falls
Or where it goes,
When adventure calls
My attention grows
Til I drop my pretension
Of depressive prose,
With that said my apprehension
To speak of this romantic tension
Leaves my heart in locked up throes
Its wants and wishes won't be exposed,
I don't know what happens now
Or happened then to bring this out
Why the night falls
Or where it goes
It won't matter I promise, it's what we chose.

Run brother run,
The tides of regret are coming,
To drown you in the Sea of Sorrows.
Each year the tide gets bigger,
Until one day it swallows you whole.

So start building that boat
Full of adventures & memories,
To sail across the Sea of Sorrows,
And reach the island of tomorrow.