Fox on a Boat

Island Cat Tonight is my last night on Ilha Grande. Tomorrow I head back to Rio, where I shall spend the night, before flying back to London via Sao Paulo on Wednesday night. If all goes accordingly, by Thursday evening I should be at home enjoying a nice cup of tea with my cats. The weather here was wonderful today - hot and sunny. I had planned to go to the beach, then to lunch, then possibly the beach again, but then I remembered the natural pool that I had not yet swum in. So there I went. To get there, one must follow the seafront road, heading right if you start from the pier, facing the town. After a few minutes, you'll see a sign marked T1 - this is the first trail. (There are trails going all around the island). The first part of the trail forms a loop - to the right Praia Preta, to the left, the pool - but of course either way will get you to both these places, it will just take slightly longer. By Lucas César Felicíssimo Mendes, via Wikimedia Commons Th...

Ilha Grande Boats Tonight I am writing from a hostel in Ilha Grande - the Big Island! I will have to add photos later however when I am home with my own laptop.. So far I've experienced a Brazilian wedding, watched a sunset over Rio from Pão de Açúcar, hiked up the mountain to Corcovado (who needs cardio machines!?) and sailed to Ilha Grande, my current location. Here it is a lot more peaceful/laid back than in Rio. There are no cars which is quite nice. I feel a bit like I am in Animal Crossing, which is intensified when I see beautiful butterflies fluttering around the hiking trails. Quick, where's my net? There are numbered trails going all around the island, and I have hiked up the closest two. The others are too far by foot unless you set up camp for the night as you go.. which I will not be doing. My first trail was T1, which goes past a natural pool, an aqueduct, old farmhouse ruins which were used as a quarantine camp, and a waterfall. Had I walked farther ...

View from the first flat I stayed in - Copacabana Favela It's been a while since my last blog post, during which nothing much was happening - until very recently. For one, I am writing this blog post from Brazil! I am sitting on a couch in a small flat in Copacabana's favela - you may have pre-conceived notions of such a place (and the name does have a negative connotation) - but the flat is nice, and the previous flat I stayed in, and the people are friendly. The children will call out "Oi!" as you walk up the stairs - and this is not the "Oi" of Brixton, circa The Clash.. No, it simply means hello. Of course, I could not seem to manage going on a trip without some sort of.. well, let's call it "adventure"... Upon arrival in Rio, after a stop and transfer in Sao Paulo, I realised that my luggage had not made it. I should have grabbed it in Sao Paulo and checked it again, and I had thought it was moved during transit in the same manner ...

Pensive kitten Processing Thoughts It's summer again, but I've been barefooted since February, April, maybe. The natural way of things, trailing dust through the house, washing feet at night just before slipping into bed - wait - open the window Just a tad, to get some air flow. Muggy London doesn't beckon much Perhaps I've been away too long, left a part of me there, missing bits Scattered around the continents, bits of land claimed, names, words Boundaries, creating jagged ravines between one face and another - Two eyes here, two eyes there, one nose, one mouth, the same - Add words, and names - there you have it, there's difference. I'm here but not here - floating halfway up, halfway down - A foot in London, a toe in France - in Canada, half a head. Spain has most of my spine, but my heart is scattered, unwhole. Holey. Phoney. This room strewn with objects. Aloe in a bottle, The Texas mug, full of pens, the wall, cove...

I recently spent a weekend in Barcelona. It unfortunately rained most of the time, but that didn't stop me from gallivanting around town, sniffing out culture like a young poet, fresh off a night bus from Toulouse... Anyway, more on Barcelona will be coming soon in another post, but for now, it's blog-gallery time! By the harbour In the metro In the metro By the harbour

The Boy Next Door Spiralling down the darker corners of the mind 7am, crying, no wailing, like an injured animal, The sound stops and starts like the humming of the fridge, who comes to a stop with a great thudding, trembling the walls - the walls, paper thin, seeping voices flutter to my ears like a black and white TV left on whilst the old man sleeps on the couch. I take a bath, to relax, to unwind, and the voices seep through, drowned out by Italian songs reverberating against the tiles, but I pause it, pause and listen - the shameful curiosity snapping awake, and there it comes, the wailing, and shouts, and then the muffled crashing of a mind at war. No prompt, just some thoughts that needed to come out, somehow.. I'm so behind.

Sad Haiku Sun came out today That will be excuse For lacking poems. No prompt, no nothing.. I'm a little dried up on ideas and it's only day eight! Hope to get back on track soon..

Stargazing in the Sahara Desert wind pushing hair strands We adjust our scarves, pull hoods, lie back, muscles stiff from the climb. Metres high with sand in our socks, Gaze at the tents, tiny below, Stare at the stars, tiny, above. -- Prompt from Imaginary Garden , also shared with NaPoWriMo. Feel free to link up your blog here

Days crawl, A trail of poured treacle. How many clouds have I seen pass By these windows I've opened and shut again— Count how many times—I've walked from door To bed, to window, to door - how many steps Taken in this temporary home, this land. How many months to make A citizen? -- Prompt:  Imaginary Garden's Flash 55 prompt . I'm using Sunday's prompt, but technically this is Friday's poem since I'm catching up. Feel free to link up your blog post here!

Time Passes, Stars Remain There was the Grande Ourse Recognisable by her Wagon shape, count three stars from the corner whilst the cold envelops you and you look so intensely your eyes almost make it to space. And at night, when all was quiet, you slipped out of bed. bare feet on the tiles, you skipped to the safety of the rug. Your brother's night light the way to freedom. With a blanket on your back, facing the heater, you read and read, engrossed in worlds unknown but still, still, one foot and ear firmly in the present, listening for trouble. Then there was the car, and the woods, and driving home at night with the radio playing soft songs of the past, and you, yes, the melancholic eight year old (perhaps a little too melancholic, maybe, a strange, grown up child) watching through the window, the stars, the night sky, that big expanse of unknown, enveloping the safe haven of the car. -- Combined the prompts from NaPo...

Prompt from NaPoWriMo : Write a poem of negation. Also shared with  Imaginary Garden . It does not softly Brush against your face as you sleep Ringing at dawn, warning "It's time to go to work!" No, it doesn't flutter slowly in the breeze Or supports your weight as you Laze in August's radiant heat - It doesn't cool you down. Rolling around on two or three wheels It does not do, no, it doesn't swim Gracefully in ponds or lakes, Doesn't soak up water like a towel. It will not keep your milk Cold and fresh, or store your cereal in airtight packaging. It does not function without electricity, It has yet to use wind energy. -- Click here to access the linky widget and add your link! Please comment on this post after adding a link. Thank you!

Art Mondays Hi, and welcome to a brand new link up! I very much enjoy link ups, as I get to find new blogs and share my posts with others. However, though I frequent two great poetry link ups, I couldn't seem to find art ones. So, I made my own! I hope you will join me and share your blog posts and artwork! You can find the rules here. Sketches from Morocco This week, I share with you some of my art from Morocco. I stayed there with friends a few weeks ago , and managed to fit in a bit of sketching time. Palais El Badii Majorelle Gardens Tanger Now it's your turn! Link up your recent artwork blog post, and be sure to visit other bloggers' posts! Please leave a comment after linking.

Song of Sorrow Kicking around pine cones It's cold, the wind Pushes raindrops against my face Beating, tiny notes of music Lamenting. Would it not be wondrous - grow wings, fly up, add notes - the soft dancing notes of a tambourine. -- Poetry Prompt From Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, using the revisited Poem Sketching prompt. Word group used: pines, tambourines, raindrops, wings

Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Moubarak Ouassat, Mahmoud Darwish Arabic Poetry in Translation Marrakesh If you are a new reader on my blog, you may not know that I love Arabic, and am currently learning the language. The above picture was taken in Morocco, when I travelled there two weeks ago with two friends. It made sense for me to continue on the Arabic theme and share some Arabic poetry today. Moubarak Ouassat The first poem I am linking to is   Perplexité . The poem is available in Arabic, with a translation in French (translated by the poet), but an English one does not seem to be available. Here is a quote from the poem: Et de quoi peut rêver  Un oiseau Que peut l’arbre Après que la pluie Ait été reportée Now, here is my (rough!) translation for you non-French speakers: And of what can dream A bird What can do the tree After the rain Has been delayed It's a pretty rough translation - the first line is not great, grammatically, but I w...

Ten Must-Sees of Morocco Koutoubia Mosque At the end of February, I travelled to Morocco with two other bloggers: Chloe and Joy - we all currently live in the same town. Morocco had been on my travel list for quite a while, so I was very excited when the plane landed and I realised I was on Moroccan soil. I will of course be writing about various aspects of our trip, but this post will concentrate on the highlights - ten, to be exact. Enjoy! I'm in Morocco! What now? 1  If, like us, you arrive late in the evening (thanks, Orly technical glitch, for the hour and a half delay!), you will need to have dinner. Luckily, eating out is nice and cheap. Since you are saving so much money, I'm sure you won't mind slipping a few morsels of food to the local cat. I'd like extra sauce on that chicken, thanks. 2 After a good night's sleep, you don't want to linger in your hotel room! Get your camera ready and go have a stroll in the gardens...

Wheat field image from  Stockvault   Promises I will think of you As the sun sets on wheat fields I had said, convinced Field rampaged, violent Winds pushing continents a part of me, of you. We were mere strangers. I discovered new wheat fields Basked in the warm glow The sun not setting and the colours not fading But I was a rose With thorns too prickly Oh, emotions - too needy A tiger to be. Two kites were broken I'm the victim and culprit Add another stripe.