I Needn't Leave | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: I Needn't Leave | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ann Stocking
08/14/05
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I Needn’t Leave

I saved my pennies and my dimes
A year or two or three,
To satisfy my lifelong dream
Earth’s wonders I would see.

The day arrived! O joy! It dawned!
Departure time had come!
With tickets clasped in eager hands,
My journey had begun!

Westminster Abbey drew a sigh
Of rev’rence from my breast.
A sanctuary, holy, hushed,
Where saints and nobles rest.

Soaring tall, the Eiffel Tower,
In high and mighty style,
Rises o’er the place wherein
The Mona Lisa smiles.

With Caesar’s legions followed I,
Along the Appian Way.
My heart stood still while echoed on
The hooves of ancient days.

Across desert sands stared the Sphinx,
At stony tombs nearby,
Where slaves had toiled and sweat their blood,
So kings, in peace, could lie.

I strolled atop the Chinese wall,
Met Buddha in Beijing.
And gazed upon the golden glow
Of statues, T’ang and Ming.

The camera clicked; the video whirred,
The sights and sounds to save.
Each temple, tomb, and tower,
Each castle, keep, and grave.

Finally, as with all good things,
The end came sure and fast.
World-weary and travel-worn,
My own front door, at last.

And then... a leaf, in slow descent,
Spiraled to my feet.
I picked it up, looked on its face,
Soft fragrance, verdant, sweet.

A map of life was charted there,
And traced within each vein.
A passport to the universe,
A message, pure and plain.

I needn’t leave for foreign shores
Or go to distant lands.
The rarest sights and mysteries
Are held within my hand.

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