FERNWEH

Fernweh (German): A longing for faraway places; Translates to ‘Far sickness’, in contrast to Heimweh (‘homesickness, longing for home’).

And every time,

I see a jet -

Its contrail, deep-blue skies,

Something stirs deep within:

A sad longing,

As the heart fills up with sighs

The mind,

Fecund rich, imagines:

The jet is going far,

Why return

When the world beckons,

A galaxy, distant star

The brooding mind

Goes far indeed

To the places we have read,

Far off deserts, valleys wild

Sandy ruins, farther still -

The Seas of Black and Red

Caravan trails,

Steppes of vast

Civilizations and their rocks,

Islands of spice

And dragon boats

Through cliffs of lime and chalks

So much to see

This rock of billion years in age,

How can one stay at home?

Were we meant

To grow our roots?

Or were we meant to roam?

Perhaps it is not wrong

To long for far,

To seek Marco, Ptolemy’s dreams

To follow Fahien, Hieun Tsang

Rewriting Alberuni, Ferishta

Fording their distant streams

Zheng He’s armada

Glows in the skies,

Albuquerque shows the way,

Columbus, Flinders, Messner calls

You light up within, ask again

Why do you turn away?

The plane disappears

The dreams diminish,

Everyday wraps us again,

We give a smile only we know

Selling hope, as warms the heart:

One day, we’ll be on that plane…

22^nd November 2025