I Used to Travel to Escape

I used to travel to escape

Escape the familiar, the complex

I ask myself now, was it just that?

Was it not my instinct to explore, reach out, change

A beckon from the pulse of the intrepid, the surge of chaos?   

Now I travel to understand

Understand that people essentially everywhere are good

That goodness I feel when I am part of a sunrise,

That rush when I catch a train on time.

For a moment, a silent prayerful moment

In the blue mosque

I see a little girl

Silently observe the world go by

With a hand absentmindedly holding on to her grand dad.

Its just that. This pleasure of our travels,

It takes us by the hand

Silently, playfully,

Through the world’s wonders, its colours its splendours

For just that one magical moment, that warm smile from a stranger,

That is what I travelled all those miles away to experience,

Now, 

I travel to feel.   

To feel, to believe.