Tourism and the Soul

Oh that you would come with me
To a wonder a yonder place!
So serene, quiet and rejuvenating,
Your soul would leave rejoicing!

The tranquil flow of Eden’s Brook
In my tropical suburban neighborhood;
The brilliance of its stony riverbed;
The shady, colorful vegetation just above;
The timelessness of its atmospheric freshness
And the unperturbed hopping and melodious chirping
Of petite birds and butterflies nearby
Herald extra-terrestrial ecstasy.

The silent whir of the temperate breeze
That constantly combs through the slender boughs
Of the surrounding grove of bamboo trees
Is sedative or serenade to an anguished soul.

Each time I go for fresh water
Ensconced on its expansive and rocky foreground
With my portable clay pot on my head,
The grandeur of the river’s landscape
Entraps every sense of my being;
Overwhelms me with psychic peace
And makes me wish for this straying world
An infinite avalanche of this peace.

Ninety kilometers east of Lagos,
Eden’s Brook isn’t only a philosopher’s haven
But also a homely substitute for odorous fumes,
Filthy eyesores and annoying concrete jungles.