Can you please help me understand what this poem is about? I just need an overall idea with a few explanation, so that I can adapt it in my writing.
Thankyou. :)
The Furthest Distance I’ve Travelled
By Leontia Flynn
Like many folk, when first I saddled a rucksack,
feeling its weight on my back —
the way my spine
curved under it like a meridian —
I thought: Yes. This is how
to live. On the beaten track, the sherpa pass, between
Krakow
and Zagreb, or the Siberian white
cells of scattered airports,
it came clear as over a tannoy
that in restlessness, in anony
mity:
was some kind of destiny.
So whether it was the scare stories about Larium
— the threats of delirium
and baldness—that led me, not to a Western Union
wiring money with six words of Lithuanian,
but to this post office with a handful of bills
or a giro; and why, if I’m stuffing smalls
hastily into a holdall, I am less likely
to be catching a Greyhound from Madison to
Milwaukee
than to be doing some overdue laundry
is really beyond me.
However,
when, during routine evictions, I discover
alien pants, cinema stubs, the throwaway
comment — on a Post-it — or a tiny stowaway
pressed flower amid bottom drawers,
I know these are my souvenirs
and, from these crushed valentines, this unravelled
sports sock, that the furthest distances I’ve travelled
have been those between people. And what survives
of holidaying briefly in their lives.
maybe some useful weblinks will help me, as I am unable to find anything.
Her souvenirs remind her of her far-flung travels.
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poet/leontia-flynn
The poem is about a woman reminiscing about her travels through her life. She started off travelling around countries (she did it the easy way "on the beaten track") but then realised that this kind of travelling is not for her. She preferred to travel around people to meet and discover new people. It's a poem about self-discovery, realisation, relationships and journeys.
The poem "The Furthest Distance I’ve Travelled" by Leontia Flynn explores the idea of travel and distance, both physical and emotional. The speaker begins by expressing their initial excitement and sense of adventure when they first started traveling with a backpack, feeling the weight on their back like a meridian. They believed that this was the way to truly live, following the beaten track and exploring different places.
As the poem continues, the speaker reflects on the restlessness and anonymity that comes with traveling. They mention the scare stories about Larium, a drug used to prevent malaria that can have side effects like delirium and baldness. The speaker implies that these stories might have influenced their decisions to avoid Western Union and wire money, and instead visit a post office with a handful of bills or a giro (a payment instrument). They also ponder why they are more likely to pack their clothes in a hurry for doing laundry rather than catching a Greyhound bus.
Towards the end of the poem, the speaker mentions finding souvenirs of their travels during routine evictions. These souvenirs include alien pants, cinema stubs, throwaway comments on Post-its, and even a pressed flower tucked away in drawers. The speaker realizes that the furthest distances they have traveled have been the emotional gaps between people. It is the connections, memories, and moments shared with others that truly define their journeys, rather than the physical places they have visited.
Overall, this poem captures the themes of wanderlust, restlessness, and the realization that traveling is not just about physical distance, but also about the emotional distance we navigate in our interactions with others. By understanding these themes, you can adapt and incorporate them into your own writing if you wish to explore similar ideas in your work.