Heaving Through Heavens

I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time.  While I held onto my lunch and I did not empty my bowels, I will deposit my experiences, thoughts and musings here.  Enjoy.


PART 1

Broad wholesome charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain

There's a green bag, and it cost more than the items in it.

I pack it to the brim, crowning it with an old pair of
converse, pressing them in and snapping the clips close.

I'm wringing wet when I get to the bus station.

My friend passes me a cold beverage, that I will spill on  a

lady shortly after the bus begins moving.  The carbonated

drink erupts with a blast that drenches every unfortunate

soul, and everything within the radius.  I clutch it and press

my hand upon the breach but to little or no avail.  One lady,

my neighbour across the aisle, suffers the brunt of my clumsy 

act.  I offer a sheepish 'Sorry,' in both English and German.
She won't accept my apology, it only adds fuel to her fiery disposition.

'Sorry?'  She repeats while giving me the cold look of Death.

My friend reassures me that most of passengers had found the 

ordeal funny.  I don't remember hearing laughter.  The hiss and gush

of foam were all I could hear.

I sip the pitiful remainder of my drink and begin a conversation with my

friend.  What follows is a twelve and a half hour journey, punctuated 

toward the end with multiple stops and passport checks.

I think about the hectic preparations and the worry that went into this

trip.

_____________________________________________________

Printing hastily pasted vocabulary

Zdravo

And stuffing balls of clothes into two bags

Kako ste?

I'm sweating heavier than in a cardio session

Ja sam dobro.

And dreading the twelve hour bus journey 

Sa screćom!

Have I everything I need?

Sretan put!

Probably not

Hvala.

But you can't prepare for every experience

Ne razumijem

And maybe that's okay.

Molim te napište to.

But it is good to try.  Despite the fear.

Putujem za Foča.

_______________________________________________________

Sunrise in Sarajevo

For the last stretch

The bus sped around twisty roads

Fog obscuring the countryside

We were rolling into the city

And the dark was fading.

I wanted the journey to last

A little longer

A little longer so I could doze

But it ended by a plum tree

In West Sarajevo.

In a nearby café

We drank hot coffee doused in cream

It could have been the best or worst 

Some stray dogs wandered close by

We left and as instructed began

To look as conspicuous as possible 

But

Also as instructed

We did not talk to strangers

We watched several VW Golfs drive by

Wondering

If the next one was our lift

It came

But not before we saw the sunrise

in Sarajevo.