The United States was founded
by the brightest people in the country -
and we haven't seen them since.

some days you will feel empty and broken
and you will feel the layer of sadness
thicker than ever before.
but i will ask and tell you to live by this,
fore there is no greater thing than to live.
and i will ask and tell you to do it by my side,
fore there is no greater thing than you.

There is a truly magical valley
Up to the north part of the Lakes District
As you pass through
Each side seems to have individual mountains
As the sun filters and dazzles
With swirling mists
That move around in ghostly fashion
Perhaps we could call it
The  valley of a thousand Hills

The  tulips  lift
there
smiling  faces
To  the  afternoon  sun.

­Keith  Wilson  Windermere  UK  2017.

It's 9:38 P.M.
It's going to be another night for the profound,
I'm in that same darkened room,
Same kitchen light,
Cigarette smoke not quite filling the room yet.
But it shall soon, because I can already tell it's going to be one of those nights.

The sandman apparently forgot to visit, for my eyes are still fresh and new.
Getty Lee is jumping from the speakers,
The anthem is long and blue.
He's telling me about the protagonist of the story,
He had just discovered a relic of the past,
It's potential for destruction could not be more true.
Of how he takes his own life,
To hide away the weapon he had stumbled upon,
To ensure its location could never be pried from his mind.

I think of old buddies from the Army,
The shenanigans we'd get into,
Of times both bad and good.
It's when I do this that I really smoke cigarettes,
Or use chew, that was a bad habit from the Army, but I'm quitting that.

Neil Peart is thundering out a solo that imprints onto the inside of my skull.
I let the waves of sound wash over me.

Excited for the gifts
This planet kindly gives
The wonders of the world are generously rife
It really is a magical life
If we are wise, we'll open our hearts, eyes and minds

I long to see Japan's elegant cherry blossom land
Geisha girls, eerily still they stand
Cooling faces with fan in hand

Walk for hundreds of miles, along the river Nile
Meeting friendly souls with weathered faces
love as their principle basis

Whiteness the overcrowded Mumbai station
Then rush to see a tea plantation
Where on your way your heart longs to stay
Here, forever you could lay
There's a calling from the hills, the wildlife thrills
But why stay still
There's plenty more to feel

The vast African plains a plenty
Where it may appear, but it's far from empty
This is the magnificent Serengeti
Here I'm in my element
Let me enjoy admiring the elephant
A powerful earth rumbling migration
Sees a whole new destination

Tysfjord with its breathtaking views
Norway is an artists muse
A landscape so still and stunning
To be offered more is a second coming
When night arrives with it northern lights
You'll be mesmerised by the natural sight
You'll stay up all night long
As morning is blessed by orca's song

Rumi was a wise old soul
His words are timeless
His advice is free
I take his writings literally

"Why stay in prison when the door is so wide open" ~ Rumi

I came from the sunny valleys
   And sought for the open sea,
For I thought in its gray expanses
   My peace would come to me.

I came at last to the ocean
   And found it wild and black,
And I cried to the windless valleys,
   “Be kind and take me back!”

But the thirsty tide ran inland,
   And the salt waves drank of me,
And I who was fresh as the rainfall
   Am bitter as the sea.