OLWG #38 – The Tourist

 Written for OLWG #38

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She spent years diligently socking money away to pay for a tour of Europe. She left in the Spring from Kansas City, connecting through New York to Paris. For three days in Paris she walked the avenues; saw Montmartre, The Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. She visited Bistro’s and Cafes, she took a coach to Versailles. She skipped around the continent: Firenze, Rome, Athens, Wien, Zurich, München.

Wherever she went, she sipped and supped brilliant food and marvelous drink. She immersed herself in the colourful and diverse cultures. No guided tours for her, she roamed the back streets and explored the galleries on her own schedule. She loved speaking with the locals, without an itinerary.  She hopped a plane to England and went to Picadilly. She flew home in the belly of the plane.

Jeanine looked to her left and stepped into the street. Ugh, did you see that?

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This week I wanted to write a Haibun of sorts. Matsuo Basho wrote Haibun as travel accounts, documenting his journeys. So I took my cue from that early history.

It is traditionally a mixture of short prose and haiku. I chose American Sentence as my poetic form for this piece. American Sentences are a Ginsberg invention attempting to make a haiku more American.  He took the seventeen syllables of haiku, going from top to bottom, and rearranged them so that there were seventeen syllables going across.

I know, I know… it flies in the face of tradition and there is really no reason to change it, but maybe that’s why I like it.

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This week’s prompts were:

1. I have extra suction cups
2. a long black car
3. ugh, did you see that

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Don’t think! Write!
You have 25 minutes but if it takes longer – just don’t tell anyone.

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