Risa Halari Wahlang
Day dreams of an innocent mind to see the world above and beyond
living the life of the screen, never illustrious only uncomplicated
not a noble vision, nonetheless bringing happiness and liberty.
An only child in a small town just imaginations to play with, its habitual
Escaping to a scenic world that unlocks your senses
Always running away from the actual, the suffocating,
In a place and time someday perhaps
As a woman for my dreams will be tangible.
Wondering if all those twenty years and four months
how my actions, words, thoughts were confined
in the name of love and protection, a classic recurrent
Urged! within me a traveler of the world, thus my aspiration.
No no it is not the cities and bright lights entirely
Neither the greens, the hills besides the cottages of the country side
Or the massive intricate columns of palaces, giant sculptures of Europe
Not even the vibrancy of cultures and colours of Africa and Asia,
For all of the above I seek, like a thali, each a dish to make one whole.
Each travel, each location, each a stage,
A maiden in a night gown, fresh in the morning full of life
Birds chirping while cycling around the friendly suburbs
Breakfast in an old French cottage in the lush hills of the Aravis Massif
Soaking all the warmth of the sun there is, grateful for all.
At noon with my lover in Central park along with man’s best friend
perhaps a picnic basket in hand, together trekking the hills of Switzerland
Walking the streets of Paris, sipping that glistening red wine, a familiar
tune in the air, La vie en rose, a predictable sight, the Eiffel tower.
Driving overlooking the vast blue ocean like velvet on the earth
Smiling as fingers intertwined, each had a ring, his and mine
Our faces against the affectionate soft breeze
That frees the soul and the spirit, we love and laugh,
The sun sets and the sky becomes a painting so beautiful
Just the two at the shore, the ocean’s orchestra
our music as he takes my hand and step by step we dance
and the sun welcomed the darkness, that is life,
A balance of the happy and sad.
Above us the stars twinkle, signaling yin and yang,
Below strolling in a calm oriental garden, two children, both girls
The moon’s reflection on the lake, her light gently touches the pink blossoms
All that beauty under the night sky for my beloved kin.
From the window to see the lights of skyscrapers of New York
Classic tunes in the background, can be rock can be jazz
Each a memory of simpler times for I am old and weak now,
In the silence of the night while the world slumbers
a longing for all of that all over again.
Who is to say none will happen for it is my own life
A treasure of the heart no one knows of yet,
unattainable for doubt seeps in time to time
Lingering in the air the question of the fulfillment of a child’s dream,
A seed of hope still out there in words that make up a pray
For faith is all there is, then to open the eyes after all is said
Staring in the emptiness of the day, it is eight in the morning
Off to college and I read, write and learn, set on to make
the impossible desire eventuate and hopeful to take off one day.