this is a trip of
a little bit flying by the seat of our pants
a little bit months and months of planning
and a frothy topping of
walking
everywhere
Author: HJ
July 9, 2025 [part 2]
art
and artists
are the only things making me
hopeful
right now
[perhaps my art
could bring hope
to someone, somewhere]
July 9, 2025
a family
a train ride
and thousands of sunflowers
in fields rolling past
at 266 km/h
and somehow it all reminds me of
van Gogh’s paintings
and how much i want to become
an impressionist
~~~
i just got so confused
as to why the baby in front of me
wasn’t crying in response to the
baby crying in the next train car over
and then i remembered that babies are not dogs
who bark and howl to be heard by others
of their species…
~~~
this whole trip
is a whirlwind
this whole life
kind of is
too
at least i have a train car
inside which to sit and write
all my silly poems
~~~
every
single
time
another train passes directly by
i
am
startled
~~~
there are
so many more palm trees
than i ever would have expected
in Europe
[i think that’s on me tho,
because climate is a known thing]
~~~
i think
if you’ve seen
any
van Gogh painting
of nature
or landscape
you’ve seen the full spirit of
what these trains speed past
July 8, 2025 [part 2]
having a whole conversation
in french
some words rushing past
in a jumble
but also able to pick up certain specifics here and there
and
able to reply
in french
apparently that’s what i wanted
from this trip
[even more so than a life-changing croissant]
July 8, 2025
who would have guessed
the Eiffel Tower lit up
in magical sparkles
at 10:00pm
[22:00]
?
[probably all those tourists we were walking towards,
but it was a complete surprise for us, as was
the time of the evening]
[still, très magique]
July 7, 2025 [part 3]
once again
en train de voyager
this time
ce temps
en avion
pas de ferrie
[i’m guessing at some of this french
but so far, i think i’m doing ok]
[though i keep worrying that i’m teaching kip things wrong
and the francophones on this plane
are judging me]
July 7, 2025 [part 2]
i am going to miss the stunningly azure-blue sky
of Greece
everywhere we went, not a cloud in the sky
seemed like some sort of paradise
[though maybe not for someone as pale-skinned as myself]
July 7, 2025
the history in Greece
feels
all around us
integrated into life
and tourist traps
and commonplace landmarks
[though i still stand in awe
at archaeological experiences,
no matter what culture is being shown]
July 6, 2025 [part 3]
i had a recovered memory
[though i still don’t know where it was from]
of dancing [something akin to the] traditional Greek dances
at some other point in my life
perhaps it was a production of fiddler
with well researched cultural expositions
or perhaps a bat mitzvah i attended once
or something else i can’t even remember the context of
but everything felt so familiar
when trying it for the first time
my life has been so filled with experiences outside my own day-to-day
and i so appreciate life that way
July 6, 2025 [part 2]
leaving my phone in my pocket
in order to experience all the culture coming at me
the dressing
the kissing
the shaving
the hugging
the loving
the familial bonds
and the invitation to observe
felt
so sincere and lovely
and the explanations for why
even more so
learning all the cultural traditions
as we watched
[and listened]
[and eventually joined in]
even the alcohol was more refreshing in Greece
kipventures 