My Inspiration to Study Abroad

 Click, Flash, in a dash,

A part of the world frozen in space,

The image of a student

In the mountains of Chili,

Swish, the wind from the next page

Hits my smiling cheek,

A whole new set of time capsles,

Of adventures, of people, of places to see

In my hand, a book, an aset, of stemming avenues,

Picked from a table in the study abroad department.

If the frozen world if the pictures could thaw, and if I could step into them,

I would pick up that rock on Mount Sini beside that student’s foot

I would place it in my pocket and hop to the next picture in Vietnam

And eat the notorious Durian fruit and collect its seeds to plant it in my back yard.

Leaping off the edge of the durian grove, Splash,

I would dive into the waves of Capetown

And tuck a sea shell in my backpack

South Africa would be so striking,

University of Johannesburg’s fiction writing courses

Would teach me to do my calling

I think I made up my mind.

I would translate back into reality,

Jump up and burst the door open

Of the study abroad office to say

“Take me to South Africa,

my seashell is calling.”