Tongue Travelling

Some people talk.
Some people listen.
I listen to others share their stories.
Irene from across the road
loves to tell of her grandson’s
life on the pearling boats
in the sparkling waters off Broome.
I walk past a woman pruning her roses.
She offers me a glimpse into
her life of home in Sweden
where summer days linger
and snow falls thick and deep and glistening.
Lucy, the checkout girl from the supermarket
is off to South America for her Uni gap year.
She is already exploring
the awe-inspiring Inca city of Machu Picchu.
A couple at my local shopping centre
have travelled from the other side of town
for the simple pleasure of a nice drive
and change of scenery.
A walk in George Street Park
finds me shaking hands with an Indian man
who tells me of his new life in Australia.
He smiles and talks of kaffir limes and jackfruit.
Yes, some people talk,
while others prefer to listen.
I like to feel myself woven
into the colourful fabrics
of other’s travels.

Bernadette Anderson is a past student of Advanced Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing) at Adelaide College of the Arts and a member of two Adelaide poetry groups. Apart from her writing, her interests are her family, horse racing, music, walking and mental health. She has published her work in long-standing literary journals such as the Goulburn Valley Writers’ Group’s Tamba and Queensland’s The Mozzie, the e-journal The Write Angle, the online Mental Health publication and website MIndshare, and in the Milang and District Community Association’s monthly newsletter. Currently engaged in typing up many years’ worth of journals kept as she grew up, she has the dream of seeing them published one day.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.