POEM - Passage to India

Vivid green thoughts
Crowded into the passing scenery
A quiet moment as passenger
Staring at the bucolic scenery
Of the rural Carolinas
My companion breaks the reverie
To discuss what brought me here
A combination of work and fate
Comes my answer
He asks if it was a good move
Certainly it was
It has changed my life
And ruminations ensue
About why and how much
That statement came true
And again green thoughts take over

Green like the palm fronds
Shading the coconut clusters
As I walk down to the beach
And peer out at the Arabian Sea
I drop my toes in the ocean
And I feel they are telling me
They have just come from Africa
And send their regards
And I feel a little more in touch
With a wilder and more primitive world

In the streets the jungle still tries
Pushing in wherever it can
A sprout of a vine
Through a crack or break
In concrete or asphalt
And each vendor promoting
The strong construction
Of each hand crafted article
Made of mango wood
Very strong
And a tap tap on the street
Shows its power
As I stand in the shade
Of one of its siblings
It is weighed down
With deepest green oblong fruit
Begging to be plucked
Tauntingly far away
In the towering fruit tree

When I cross the bay
In the open air ferry
The other shore possess history
Carries the scent of a thousand years
Of merchants pursuing the spice trade
I can imagine Marco Polo
Giving up the land route
Settling into this paradise
And making his fortunes
In cardamom and pepper
Mace and nutmeg and star anise
To shake his hand
You would be awash
In his sweaty musk
Tinged with pungent exotic spices
That made you crave his companionship
I would be happy in that life
Like that Peacemaker's song
About the smuggler's trade
It is a lot of easy money
The hard way

Back in the car
I confirm again I am happy
This has been a good move
My circle of friends
Now circles the globe
And my love for the world
Has grown the same
And is evergreen
As the coconut palms
And mango trees
Shading the spice trade
Blown gently
On pepper scented breezes