A Glimpse of Starlight

I found this amazing article the other day—“25 Words of Different Languages You’ll Wish We Had in English”—that I’m sure I’ll be using often this month. Yesterday’s poem is based off of a word I found there. 

April 7, 2015 ~ Fenweh

fenweh (German) ~  crave for travel; “farsickness”; being homesick for a place you’ve never been 

My fingers trail across the globe,

brushing countries I’ll never see.

My eyes dance across photographs,

exploring places where I’ll never be.

 

My mind absorbs page after page,

discovering lands too far away.

My heart yearns for a nameless dream,

burning with hope of “someday”.

 

I want to uncover this world,

want to cradle it in my hand.

I want to leave no stone unturned,

want to be embraced by every land.

 

I ache to discover something new,

ache to inhale untouched air.

I ache to watch a thousand sunsets,

each one from a different lair.

 

I yearn to meet my long-lost siblings,

scattered across this twirling sphere.

I yearn to hear the ancient songs

of every people, ringing clear.

 

This is what I want, and it’s not what I want,

there are no words for this desire.

Sometimes I stare at the sky at night

And feel in my soul a nameless fire.

 

What does the sun look like,

from a mountaintop across the sea?

What kind of winds could I feel,

in a village worlds away from me?

 

What does the ocean whisper,

to children on a foreign coast?

What kind of colors could I see,

gazing out from a desert outpost?

 

If asked to frame this yearning

with best word that I posses,

I would be lost, overwhelmed,

but finally choose homesickness. 

 

Yes, I beg, just bring me home,

though I know not where that is.

To find my belonging place, I vow,

I will tear this earth to bits.

 

But until I am given wings to fly

and begin this journey of the heart,

I will spin the globe and watch the stars

And dream of when I can finally depart.