Traveling Alone, Traveling Together…by Robert M. Katzman
November 4, 2011
I have been many places
Traveling alone
Traveling together
Sometimes both
Together’s better
Alone you choose
You come
You go
You pause
You contemplate
You share nothing
You have
Freedom’s
Isolation
You accommodate only yourself
The memories are yours
No one else will remember them
How tall was the mountain?
How beautiful was the river valley?
Do you remember:
the
Intricate brickwork
of that:
Church
Synagogue
Mosque
Shrine
Bridge
or the
Endless road from Rome?
You better
No one else will
I have received kindness from
Strangers
When in trouble
Never to see them again in
Cologne
Paris
Frankfort
Montreal
Prague
There will never be the sentence:
Do you remember when…
I may as well have been on
The Moon
For all anybody knew
A companion watches
Your back
Your luggage
Lets you sleep
Cheers you up
Is enthralled with you
Pissed off with you
Frightened with you
In the Eiffel Tower
At the Louvre
While you run to a bathroom
When you miss the
Train
Boat
Plane
When the stunning
French girl strolls by
When the nasty
French merchant
Snaps at you
When you see
All the Crosses and Stars
At Normandy
Takes your picture
Poses for you
Proves you were really there
Whenever
Wherever
You both remember
The crusty bread
The sensuous wine
The ocean of cheeses
The fish with pepper and lemon
The grapes stolen from a vine
The dark chocolate with almonds
The coconut gelato
You both remember
Crying in the cinema
The hush of the Cathedral
A meadow of flowers
So silent
You could hear the
Muddy brown creek
Slip by
Rippling
Hear the birds chirp
Hear the wind
Rushing past you
To be sick
Alone
In another country
Is very close to Hell
Maybe worse
When you return
Your friend may go away
But you will always know
Someone
Somewhere
Besides just you
 Remembers the day
When you saw
What you saw
And
How it was
When you were
Traveling together
Alone together
Far, far away
**************************
About the writer and his other life in Skokie, Illinois:
Bob Katzman’s Magazine Museum: 100,000 periodicals back to 1576!
4906 Oakton St. (8000 north and 4900 west) Skokie, Ill 60077
(847)677-9444 Mon-Fri: 11 am to 4 pm / Sat: 10 am to 2 pm
Katzman’s Publishing Company site: www.FightingWordsPubco.com
Katzman’s online non-fiction stories: www.DifferentSlants.com
Poetry? For me, writing poetry is not an option.
It’s a response to emotion. Like cigarette smoke,
it’s fast-flowing, shapeless and with little time to capture it.
Writing poetry in an imperative. I say what I feel compelled to say.
I sell my five published books via mail order and accept major credit cards.
Fast, reliable service. Read my stories and see what you think.
I’m also available for hire to read my true Chicago stories to organizations
and answer all questions. I autograph my books when I sell them.
I am currently seeking an agent to do more readings.
Feel free to call me at the number above.