What places you must have seen.
What roads you must have walked on,
followed paths that seemed to disappear into nothing
only to, suddenly, present you with breath-taking nature displayed before your eyes,
as if it all came together just for your benefit.
Hiking boots on your feet, old, muddy,
worn in by endless hours of walking on rough terrain,
wading through shallow water,
sinking in golden sand on long stretches of beach.
Do you have blisters on your heels?
Are they covered by band aids to stop the wounds from getting bigger?
Does your back ache from the weight of your rucksack?
at times, seeming to fuse with your body,
wrapping itself around your torso,
becoming one with your spine.
The skin on your face and forearms is burnt,
exposed as it is to the unrelenting travelling sun.
And, though you are a seasoned hiker,
you are also the most unlikely one I’ve ever seen,
dressed as you are in your deep red velvet coat,
its voluminous material flapping by your knees,
creating graceful waves of red with each step,
an unfamiliar item of clothing amidst the verdant background of trees
and the distant shimmering cobalt blue of the sea.
I watch you as you walk up the hill towards the ancient temple,
and I wonder…
I wonder what this coat has seen,
what it feels being carried throughout the world in search of new adventures.
Are there times when it would rather stay at home,
resting on the armrest of your sofa or hanging on your coat stand –
surrounded by other coats, jackets, a bag or baseball cap?
Or,
is it the one that –
if it’s been hanging inanimate for too long –
gets restless,
and sends you telepathic messages,
images in your mind’s eye of places yet to discover,
lands you will both conquer and love,
intoxicates you with the thought alone of travel?
I wonder who is carrying whom across this earth,
as I watch you float by, in your deep red velvet coat.