Farewell & Hello

Hello, all! ^^ How have you all been doing? I do hope this week has been going well for you and that it’s been chock full of delightful books! I myself have been wretchedly ill this past week. I’ve been stuck in bed, more bored than one can possibly imagine, been to the hospital and stabbed with needles (tis not fun, folks!!! Though blood is a pretty color. A sort of deep crimson red. My villain would greatly like it, I think), and this past week has not been going to plan.

And we have a fliiiight…..

*eye twitch*

So one may see why I am a tad nervous.

But today, I thought I would share a little poem that I wrote a while ago.

(And no, I am not leaving my blog nor going on hiatus, because the last time I posted a poem titled “Farewell”, it appears I gave some of y’all a mini heart attack because you thought I was leaving my blog. XD Feareth not, dear readers! I am not abandoning this blog!)

These past six months have been… gosh. Crazy and beautiful and incredible. They have been so very full of laughter and tears, joy and heartbreak, and ever so many adventures.

We came to Thailand a little less than six months ago. And now, we’re leaving.

Truth be told, I was far from overjoyed to be returning to Thailand. I’d been going through a friendship breakup, we’d only just moved, and I’d lost more friends than I care to admit. It felt like I was being ripped away from home once again. Like a little sapling being ripped out of the earth.

The thought of change terrified me.

Truth be told, I do think change terrified everyone, somewhat.

And yet, not all change is bad.

And I don’t believe I regret this change one bit. There were terribly hard times, times when I desperately wished that things could be… different somehow, that I could be back home with all my books and my bed and everything I had to leave behind.

I most certainly shan’t miss having to share a room with family members who snore like thunder. And I most certainly shan’t miss having tiny bookshelves and not nearly enough books.

Some change is for a reason. And these past few six months, I’ve grown in ways I never would’ve if I’d just stayed, cooped up in my little writing shed. I reunited with my dear Thai friend, had my first crush, went hiking for the first time, caught tiny crabs with my hands at the beach, and went on so many wild adventures. I went to Malaysia, dug graves at beaches*, went swimming in the sea, and just… it was amazing.

*don’t ask. XD

And while I miss home greatly and am more than ready to return to my bookshelves and my little writing shed, I will also greatly miss Thailand.

Truth be told, I don’t know if I’m ready to leave.

But I suppose that’s the thing about change. It happens, whether you are ready or not. And the only thing you can do is… well, keep moving forward.

And so without further ado, here it is. A little poem I wrote.

Hope you enjoy. <3

~ ~ ~

Summer nights spend running
On dusty old pavement
Afternoons racing,
On sun-warmed grains of sand.

Laughter and tears shared under
starlit-nights
With friends new and old.

Memories that are
Inked in pen upon the page,
Memories that will
Never fade.

The nine cats,
Huddled under chairs and lounging across tables,
The dusty pavement,
Stretching on into an endless road,
Our hands,
Sticky from mango juice, sharp and sweet.
The little scar upon my knee,
From when I slid and crashed and fell.

The wall by my desk, covered
Sketch after sketch after messy sketch
Of fairies and swords and rings and trees
Of birds and mushrooms and cups of tea,
The rickety desk where I wrote
Poems and novels and terrible songs,
Stories of great woe and gore.

Strange to think that
After only a few months
Only a hundred something days,
This place feels like
home.

But soon I take my leave and wave
Farewell
To green mountains and blue skies
To dusty pavements and starlit nights,
And say
Hello
To dear
old
Home.

~ ~ ~

I’m not much of a poet. I’m not great at rhythm or rhyme or imagery. I’m much more used to writing long novels, where characters go off random tangents about bread, and cheese, and cups of tea. And I don’t think any poem, however long or short, could possibly describe everything I’ve been through in Thailand. I do believe it is something that one must really live through and truly experience. But I have done the best I can do.

Again, I don’t feel ready to leave. I don’t feel ready for change.

But as Millie Florence puts it in her book, “Change is not a gate we pass through. It is the definition of life.” And I do think that is very true.

So do let me know down in the comments what you thought of this poem! ^^ I love hearing from y’all! We shall be leaving for China, and so my posting shall no doubt be wildly inconsistent till we finally settle down. But I wanted to share this poem with you guys. So… yeah. 🙂

Wishing y’all a lovely, cozy week ahead,

-Isabelle