the wandering traveler - by alan gabriel

Continuing along with theme of National Poetry month, our next contributor is shaking things up, as one of the youngest (if not youngest) Bear titleholders in Bear community history. Alan Gabriel is the current Mr. Los Angeles Leather Bear and like many who comes to play, sense of place is very important to him. Read on.

The Wandering Traveler

Alan Gabriel

A young wandering traveler,

curious about his world,

curious about his surrounding,

curious to see what is out there outside his world.

The young traveler wanting to know,

but, his walls began to build

walls limiting his views.

He tries to destroy them, but he is too weak for now.

As he continues his journey, the walls follow.

waiting …waiting to capture the wandering traveler.

He sees something new,

begins to wonder and see the beauty of the new,

The walls destroyed the new.

He is sad, lost, confused.

The walls protect the young traveler grew,

but he wanted to see the new.

he saw a boat floating on the ocean—curious,

He began his escape.

The walls knew what he was doing, but did not stop him.

The wandering traveler began his journey.

seting sail to a new adventure,

but the sea began to violently wave,

causing the boat to rock and shake.

The sea sending roaring waves,

stripping the boat’s structures.

until its nothing but a floating plank of wood.

The wanderer is floating on the plank,

lost, sad, alone, confused, angry.

He did not know what to do,

He began to wonder why the walls did not protect him.

He lands onshore to new.

New, new, new. He began a new journey,

saw new places, new personalities, new opportunities,

Creating a new goal—finding his own place in the new.

The wandering traveler, wishing the walls could see.

Wishing his walls could see his growth,

jumping from groups, from cities, from countries, from, civilization.

Throughout his journeys,

He began to shape-shift his form to fit to find his place.

The wandering traveler 

continues his journey of finding his place,

but he was sad and alone.

People coming and people going.

Nothing remaining the same,

Life constantly changing,

Like the sea stripping his boat.

He grew tired of shapeshifting, 

but continued to find his place.

He saw a new boat and set sail

to his “original” place.

The walls happy to see, but they still 

the wandering traveler the same: “Too young.”

The walls have not changed, but the traveler 

is resting at the “original” place.

As he began to retell his journey,

The walls grew angry.

The walls covered the island and grew spikes.

The wandering traveler was confused.

The walls covered over his growth in shame and scream,

“YOU’RE WRONG, THE NEW BLIND YOU!

YOU ARE STILL YOUNG, YOU CANNOT GROW!”

The walls wanted to transform the “young” traveler.

they wanted to shapeshift his form to a permanent wall.

but he saw a hole in the wall—a weak spot.

The traveler was scared to get on a new boat,

scared the ocean will strip the boat to just a plank.

He took the risk and destroyed the walls.

escaped, never to return, never to look back, 

never to remind, happy to see new.

The wandering traveler set out to find his place.

He saw something new.

This new was dark, scary, erotic, but welcoming.

The people there were wearing dark, erotic garments,

But the traveler did not bat an eye.

He fell under the spell, The spell of the smell they cast.

The wandering traveler felt welcomed.

He no longer needed to shapeshift.

He found his place in this new.

But of course, as life changes, so does the new.

As the wandering traveler settles in his new place,

He mutters these words to himself and others:

“Remember to smile because you are worth it”

©2021 Alan Gabriel

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