�JOURNEY - an act of going to one place to another�

(PART 1) �THE BREAKFAST.�

Morning awakes,
Follow it,
Breathe it,
Cherish it.
The breeze,
Flowers, the rustle in the trees,
Everything innocent
starts with a morning.
The new born,
The day,
A working day.
Breakfast!
Yes, breakfast.
A first and must,
Every creature starts the day with a meal.
The lion�s first kill.
A spider�s first fly,
Strangulated and suffocating
ensnared inside the web.
Wandering,
Wondering whether you�ll finish this journey.
The journey towards
the city of dreams.
Will your vacation
be made complete.

(PART 2) �THE PATH.�

With the path ahead of you,
Every step,
Whether right or wrong,
Is a step towards
the city of dreams.
Be careful though.
Watch the path
as it may lead you
to unwanted pastures.
But follow the correct path,
And follow
without tripping.
Then you may reach your goal.

(PART 3) �THE UNDECIDED VOTER.�

Is this the day?
Is this the hour?
The time has come,
You�ve passed the forest of the misled,
The path turns into street,
The pace quickens,
You are joined by others,
Others hoping to reach
their own individual goal.
There in front of you,
You see it.
The sight you left the womb for.
But such an impressive sight.
Ahead�there.
Was it worth leaving for?
Wasn�t it!
Some around you,
Stop,
Fall,
Crying and screaming.
Wishing they hadn�t left the safety of their mother�s breast behind them.
Their tortured souls destined to scream out in pain
from the lonely desperation of the hard shoulder.
They beg,
Causing some passing dreamers to stop and help the fallen.
Only to be suddenly devoured by the tortured.
The few of you left press on.
Are you in the few?
Or have you been devoured.
Or were you one of those tortured souls
who has left your dreams behind,
Giving way to reality.
Those of you who have pressed on
will reach the city of dreams.

(PART 4) �THE GATES.�

The gates of the citadel
loom up
in front of you.
The guards stop each of you.
Ask what business you have inside the walls of the citadel.
The queue slowly diminishes.
Some are turned away.
Their dreams
smashed and thrown.
Cast away
to be washed down the drain.
Though some return
and try their luck again.
People of all ages
stand around,
Awaiting the judgement.
Suddenly all eyes are on you.
It�s your turn.
You gulp,
Your palms become sweaty,
You wipe the perspiration from them.
Joy eclipses you.
The gates open
and the guards bid you a good journey inside the walls of the city.

(PART 5) �THE ILLUSION.�

The city,
This concrete and stone monstrosity
has engulfed you.
Like Jonah in the Whale
you are alone.
With no familiar surroundings,
Unhappy faces walk past.
Staring at their shoes
and scared to look you straight in the eye.
They try and mislead you.
Tell you that you�ve made the mistake,
That your dreams are really nightmares
and that no sanctuary can be found
in this citadel of illusion.
Are you listening to their malicious gossip,
Have you joined the pack
only to end up as a white mouse
on the dissection table in the corporate lab.

(PART 6) �THE FALLEN EMPEROR.�

He walks,
In an illusion.
His underlings
await to slit his throat.
And jump into his shoes,
Take over,
Lead the empire
to a greater glory,
And then,
End up
like all dictators.
Be opposed.
But the underlings,
The worms
under him
await in the aisles.
Await for that one
mortifying mistake,
To step one more place
up the ladder,
Only to find the snake.
Is this what you�ve dreamed?
Are you witnessing
a future reflection of yourself.

(PART 7) �THE QUESTION.�

Suddenly
seeing the illusionists,
You forget.
Why have I come here?
What do I seek?
Is this my dream
I see before me.
Am I to wander through these paper walls which hold me.
Am I to walk these movable walk ways
only to realise I am moving against the flow.
Only to end up like a salmon,
Dead and upstream.
Only to leave my dream to my maternal offspring.

(PART 8) �THE REALISM.�

The sickness,
The regret,
Do you feel it.
Am I to faint
and let this city crush my dream.
Stop my feeble body
from reaching its destiny.
The dream,
I now remember.
It is why I am here.
It is why I tightrope this silken thread.
I must keep my balance
and stop myself from falling into the web below.

(PART 9) �THE STREET CIRCUS.�

The joy in their faces,
As the deluded
walk down the street.
Jesters,
Jugglers,
Acrobats
and other circus acts,
All of whom think that they�ve found their dream.
They perform faster
and faster
without stopping
until they have exhausted themselves.
Their dream found
but unable to leave.
Only to persuade
others of forgetting their goal
and join the metropolis circus.
One or two of you
suddenly join in,
And start a new act.
As sudden as their arrival,
Their departure as swift.
You are left to gather your thoughts
with your dream still clasped firmly in your hand.

(PART 10) �THE JOY.�

The city
now seems less threatening.
The tall buildings
with the mirrored windows
gleam as the sun shines off them.
The dream in your hand,
Keep it
and don�t share it
until you have discovered it�s potential.
Then let the world know.
Climb the tallest building
and scream it out from the rooftop.
Let the citadel know
that you are not beaten easily.
It is then you realise
that the goal is found.
Not under a stone,
Not in a padded wallet
but in your own heart.
If you�ve succeeded
you will feel it.
However small your dream may be
the joy of success
will scream out.

(PART 11) �THE HUNT.�

Stalking down the road,
The search has begun.
The goal,
Ahead�somewhere ahead.
Or have you already discovered your dream.
Is it firmly placed in your pockets.
If it is,
Check those pockets
and dig deep.
The city doesn�t steal dreams
but the illusionists do.
These kleptomaniacs will do
anything to leave on a
stolen passport.
Whilst you find yourself
taking their place.
An English tourist sitting
in the gutter of a strange land,
Moping around,
With your head in your hands,
After having the chalice
wrenched from your hands.

(PART 12) �AT FIRST SIGHTING.�

Suddenly,
There�ahead of you.
To the left,
Or was it to the right.
The crowds,
Oh, the crowds.
There are too many people
pushing and pulling me back.
I can�t overcome the flow.
�Give up!�
You hear your voice
telling you to retire from the quest.
�NO!
I�ve come this far,
I will not be defeated.�
You feel like a tourist
leaving the tube train
and fighting to get off
during the rush hour.
Push,
Shove,
Fight them�beat them,
Kick them�kill them.
Kill for that dream.
�Does it really mean that much to you?�
�YES, I must reach my goal.�
Suddenly, the crowd disperses.
�Do not the illusionists see?
I am within succeeding my aim.
Why don�t they follow?
Are they blind?
Surely they can see
my grail is within my grasp.�

(PART 13) �THE GOAL.�

There it sits
in your hand.
Staring back at you,
As though asking the question.
�What�s all this fuss about?�
Your dream is here.
Reality has taken it�s toll.
This secret you have kept dear
throughout your journey.
The dream is now yours
to behold and to squander.
Scream out
and show the illusionists.
Say to them,
�This is mine.
This is my key to happiness,
This is my passport
from this deluded hell.
I am alive and now I can leave.�
The illusionists look at you
as though you are mentally deranged.
You are someone out to threaten them.
They seem to cower
as you walk towards them.
Completely unsure of someone
with heaven in the hands.
The crowds break
and give your path a wide berth.
Some as they do so
scold you and throw invisible daggers
from shallow eyes.
Curse your very existence.
But you have the dream,
And their childish jealously
means nothing at this very moment.

(PART 14) �THE DEPARTURE LOUNGE.�

You are gazing at the world
through rose-coloured glasses.
As you retrace your steps
towards the main gate,
You meet one or two
who entered the citadel
at the same time as yourself.
They greet you
like an old school friend.
Each of you has his or her dream with them.
You all discuss the journey
and what each of you have had to endure.
You realise you had a fairly quiet trip
compared to your colleagues.
You all feel like
the magnificent seven
with the sun at your back.
Walking towards the immortality
which each of you have sought after.
But like rose-coloured glasses,
Dreams can shatter.
With this thought permanently
imprinted in your mind�s eye,
The main gate looms nearer.

(PART 15) �THE DELAY.�

Here at the gate,
The guards announce that each of you
will be questioned thoroughly before you leave.
And ask if the dream they hold
is really their passport from the citadel.
Somewhere in front,
An illusionist is trying to bluff
his way out of his private delusion.
But the guards always know.
Like St. Peter, they have their list.
No one has yet left the city
on someone else�s meal ticket.
The perspiration
pours out of this worried man.
His pleas go unanswered
as the guards throw him aside.
The man raises himself to his feet.
Screams and cries at everyone
standing in the queue.
He grovels at your feet
but you do not help him.
Seeing that his cries
are falling on deaf ears.
He suddenly stands upright
gazes right to left,
Then with wild insanity
runs off into the throng of the city
shouting, wailing and bawling like a spoilt brat.
You watch him disappear into the crowded streets.
It is soon your turn to leave.
The guards interrogate you.
The question is asked
and you answer.
Suddenly the world is in slow motion.
The strobe light flashing at the disco scene.
The guards turn the key,
The thud of the bolt being pulled,
The gate creaks open,
You walk through.
Reality bites as the gate
shuts behind you with a crash.
The pause button removed
and you are free.
The city is behind you
the exam passed
and you are left to collect your thoughts.

(PART 16) �THE REALISM.�

The quest complete.
The dream firmly tucked under your belt.
The world floats by at a leisurely pace.
Life is complete,
The Cheshire Cat smile
across your face,
Shows the passer�s by
of your success and happiness.
Some ask the way to the city,
You just brush past them
without answering.
Suddenly, someone stops you.
You look up.
Your eyes dive and drown in brown eyes.
A mermaid asks
�Why so happy?�
Without a word leaving your lips.
You take hold of her,
Embrace her
and with one single kiss,
You clasp her by the hand
and she leads you to happiness.
It is at this point,
You realise the dream
cannot be shattered or stolen.
It was yours and no one else�s
right from the start.