During coffee break in our company canteen, a colleague told me about a surprising visitor he had the other day, a young man from Japan who flew to Paris, bought a bike and is now making his way to Shanghai by bike. He has a route worked out but no hotels booked and my colleague met him in the evening by the river when he was asking different promenaders if he could stay at their place for the night.

My colleague took him home, they talked, cooked a meal together and in the morning he moved on.

I was fascinated by the courage and openness of this young japanes guy, also by his desire to not only see the land but meet the people, talk to them, get an insight into different cultures and different ways to think and live. It needs a bit an adventurous spirit and an open mind to do that, also a certain tenacity to move on when the path is getting arduous.

I think it takes a bit of this spirit as well when we leave our comfortable living rooms to head out on the poetry trail each week. And then, are we only taking the easy and/or well-known routes or are we ready to go new ways and talk to the strangers, we meet on the road? Do we move on, even if it’s getting a bit laborious? Are we open to otherworld views and new styles of poetry that may not fit into our self-constructed squares?

If we really head out and go on that journey, it may not be an easy walk but an exciting trip for sure, and we’re going to find treasures that would’ve never come to us if we’d just stayed in “Shanghai”

So are you in..? My name is Claudia Schoenfeld and I got my bike ready to go & happy to meet you out on the trail to read your poetry, chat a bit and maybe share a meal with you…

Happy OpenLinkNight everyone!

..and for the Newcomers…here’s how it works…

• Post a poem to your blog,
• Link your poem to dVerse (1 per blog, please) by clicking on the Mr. Linky button below.
• This opens a new screen where you’ll enter your information, and where you also choose links to read. Once you have pasted your poem’s blog URL and entered your name, click Submit. Don’t worry if you don’t see your name right away.
• Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post.
• Visit as many other poems as you like or can, commenting as you like or can, as well.
• Spread the word on the poems you enjoy if you’d like. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.