DAILY PHOTO: Two Views of Széchenyi Bridge

DAILY PHOTO: Baku Highrises

DAILY PHOTO: Tower Freedom Park

DAILY PHOTO: Revenue Survey Offices, Bangalore

DAILY PHOTO: Amantani Island Jetty

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Empty Chairs [Free Verse]

I watch the chairs
That watch the ocean,
Wondering whether
Some passerby will take
A seat to admire
The turquoise water
& crashing surf.

No one does.

Tourist and local alike
Spill by in a rush to get
Through paradise to
Somewhere else --
Probably a cruddy
Hotel room or
Unloved job.

Of course, if someone
Did take a seat,
They might be run off
On the grounds that
These are proprietary
Chairs.

[That's just the petty world
In which we live;
Where a business will
Protect its space for
Exclusive use by
Nonexistent customers.]

One might suggest that
It's too hot to sit
And admire the ocean,

But by the time those chairs
Have cooled,
The view will be
Blackness.

DAILY PHOTO: Symphony Lake Fountains, Kuala Lumpur

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On Tourists & Travelers [Free Verse]

A tourist looks back fondly upon 
A favorite destination;
A traveler is always at it.

A tourist loathes travel hiccups;
A traveler calls them stories.

A tourist jumps from one
Postcard vista to the next;
A traveler moves through the world.

A tourist collects knicknacks & geegaws;
A traveler collects experiences.

A tourist, between sights, seeks
A life experience as close to
Their homelife as possible.
A traveler wants a life experience
As close to local as possible.

A tourist has a favorite meal;
A traveler assumes he hasn't
Crossed paths with it yet.

A tourist leaves nothing to chance;
A traveler embraces the spontaneous.

A tourist takes comfort as a main course;
A traveler uses it like a condiment.

DAILY PHOTO: Canton House Gate

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