#Poetry #Photojourney #Travel JOURNEY OF THE CHILDREN #Tunisia #Afghanistan #Rumi

As I travelled

In a four wheel drive

Across the semi-desert

Of Western Tunisia

Accompanied by the driver

And a family of five

I heard a language

I did not know

Mixed with

A little of my own

Occasionally

From the children

It was then

That I discovered

They were

From Afghanistan

I talked of Rumi

The mystic poet

Of old Afghanistan

And as the jeep

Bumped across the sand

And down the deep hillocks

Of the hardened sand

The ancient

Civilisation

Of Persia

Opened its heart

And revealed its wisdom

Over two days

I learned of the

Poets of the City of Balkh

And the fountainhead

Of

The Conference

Of the Birds

And over two days

The splendid children

Of five nations

Dominated our coach

In play

Between themselves

With no reference

To their origins

In

Malaysia, Pakistan

Germany, Afghanistan

And the United Kingdom

Skilled networkers

Of eight and nine

Exchanging email addresses

Entertaining  one another

And creating

A zone of civilization

Without

Anything more

Than a safety

Wall

Of adults

Sitting beside them

And then I knew

As the coach travelled onwards

Across the salt desert

And to the

Cave dwellings

Of the Berbers

Of Mahmata

That our world will not be destroyed

By the idiocies

Of ideology and violence

But will be

Redeemed

By the intelligent

Creative

Children of the nations

And in the final

Hours of the journey

I discussed

With my new friend

The refugee journalist

The politics

Of avaricious

Capital

And the civilized

Words of the

Respected poets of

Thirteenth century

Afghanistan

And wondered

When we will

All wake up

And make our world

Like the wold

Of the children

And I knew

That we will only do so

When we listen

To them

And then I was

Very glad

From my forthcoming work “From an Eye on the Crescent – Convene the Parliament of the Birds”

– Viewing the World through the lens of the Land of Tunisia

Tagged: Afghanistan, Ancient Persia, Beauty, change, desert, Photojourney, Rock Desert, Rumi, Salt Desert, Sand Desert, Semi-desert, Tunisia

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