Foreign Country

I love the fourth stanza in this poem especially Magic - fascinating reading!

Thank you, insert! Sat here in my gown at the moment, having just returned from my first JCR (Junior Common Room) meeting - lots of official but rather dull stuff to wade through! But something nice to return to it seems - thanks for the cherries, cherry fairies!

Magic xxx

oh the gown! I have been teasing my son about when they're going to pass the sorting hat round : )

Ah, yes it is like coming to Hogwarts! We have formal dining every Tuesday where we sit on four long tables with the tutors at the high table at the end! Me and my friends are currently plotting to go and see the seventh Harry Potter in our gowns!

Magic xxx

Great read and a worthy cherry. Excellent honey.

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Thank you, iDrew! Glad you enjoyed this one ;)

Magic xxx

Hi Magic,
this really is a great piece, telling your feelings
in such a poetic way. You have a way of bringing the
reader into your great adventure. I love the second
stanza.
Jenny. xxx

Very enjoyable poem with an apt title. I liked many lines but the following in particular:
"I am not forgetting... I just don't
remember like I used to"
Well done on the cherry.

Luigi xxx

Hello, Jenny! Thanks for joining me on my adventure - glad you enjoyed the trip ;)

Magic xxx

Thank you, Luigi! The poem grew from that L.P. Hartley quote - mentioned by one of my lecturers in a John Donne tutorial :)

Just off to a History of the English Language lecture now - then a drama tutorial - then I'll spend the evening thinking up reasons why my friends shouldn't drag me to the Klute nightclub. I swear us St Mary's students practically live there and it's not exactly the best place for a second home ;)

Magic xxx

Well done on the cherry, Magic - another brilliant poem :)

So many great lines and images -

'I am memorising new faces, names,
life stories and places - and so
I don't dream in the familiar.'

&

'and dragging myself past a grey lecture theatre,
carrying a broken heart as if I were cradling
my own entrails, trying to keep it all together.
But... no. Not so...'

Just love these :)

Final stanza is just stunning, really enjoyed this.

Rachel xx

Thank you, Rachel! Glad you like that final stanza - as with 'Relic', I wanted to end on a positive note - one of hope, knowing that even if a transition is difficult or painful, it is all definitely for the best!

Magic xxx

Wonderfully articulate and full of insight. If I had to choose I'd go for the 3rd stanza, but I enjoyed them all equally.

Thanks, Shirley! Yes, a bit of A level Psychology sneaked into that third stanza ;)

Magic xxx

Another one of yours, Magic, that I completely missed.

It is totally excellent, and I also would pick stanza three as my favourite.

As I am always saying, one of your many best, most definitely;-)

Tina xxx

Thank you, Tina! It means a lot to me that you class this among my best - I want to stay on form with my poetry whilst I'm away! ;)

Magic xxx

Or 'The past is a strange land, most strange' (I think) - one of Edward Thomas' but I can't remember which. Nothing new under the sun.

Well, I liked the last stanza best but it was all very good. Just wait till your first holidays back home again - that's when things really get confusing ...

They say that the ideal goal of migration and acculturation (whatever that means) is the point when you can draw on and integrate both the origin and the destination. But it's rather a crazy ride on the way there.

Rob

Hello, Rob! I love that Thomas quote - and glad you enjoyed this one :) I'm coming home for a weekend in the middle of November, then my term finishes mid-December. And I hope I reach this ideal goal at some point in the future ;)

Magic xxx

This is some parts like me Magic, I feel bad that I forgot, just speak your own language & hope you have something that helps you remember, takes you back. Do you wear a funny uniform? Admit you are happy is only in your mind :) x K

Hello, Kahdai! Glad you could relate to this one :) If by 'funny uniform' you mean my black gown, then yes I do have to wear it for certain things like college formals - you can see a pic of me in it on my Deviantart account!

Magic xxx

:D cool if it like hogwart harry potter!

Almost missed this one. It is really good that you can put your experiences into a good poem. I think you must be enjoying it even if there are some things you miss. Well done and it's great that you still have the time and energy for abc. Good luck !! and keep writing here on the site forever and ever.
;)Pia

Thank you, Pia! I am really enjoying it here - but you're right, I do miss certain things about home :) I've had all my preliminary tutorials this week - my actual tutorials start next week and now, shock horror, I've got quite a bit of work to be getting on with! But I will try and stay a regular on ABC ;)

Magic xxx

"And, the further
away from you I go, the closer
to you I get."

So much can be read into this ending, a very enjoyable piece.

:--) xxx

That image of a stranger climbing in to your mind is very powerful. I hope you do well young lady you have a unique voice

Thank you David and maudsy! :)

Magic xxx

I am not forgetting... I just don't
remember like I used to; this shift
is happening much quicker than expected.
As if, in the early hours, someone
climbed through a window into my mind
and rearranged the furniture.

Beautiful. Hope all is well with you Magic xx