Different Slants

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.