Poetry Friday: I want to run away

I hope everyone enjoyed the recent holiday weekend. Easter is an extended holiday in Germany, so we had lots of good family time together. Family time is generally a good thing; even when it gets to be challenging, it has its benefits. Exhibit A: inspiration for this poem.

I Want to Run Away

My children test my patience almost every single day.
Some days it gets so bad, they make me want to run away.
Run off to join the circus, where I'll train the dancing bear.
Or maybe to the city, to sell fancy underwear.
No, retail's not for me, instead I'll travel 'round the world.
Outracing storms and tidal waves with massive sails unfurled.
I'll go on a safari and I'll sleep up in a tree.
I'll fend off greedy pirates, search for treasure in the sea.
I'll climb upon the pyramids, go see the Taj Mahal,
commune with some orangutans and walk on China's wall.
I'll ride a Russian rocket, yes, I'll take it straight to Mars,
then further out to space to see Orion's eighty stars.
I'll travel 'round the universe, but come home when I'm tired
from all of the adventures that my children have inspired.
Copyright © 2010 Alison Pearce Stevens

The myriad sources of inspiration never cease to amaze me. Certainly, I would not have started writing poetry without inspiration from my children, and their reaction to things like night lights, the stories they tell on the way home from kindergarten, and their infectious joie de vivre. The travel part of this poem was inspired by a conversation with a friend who lived in Europe before having children; she and her husband had more opportunities to travel than we have had with two little ones in tow.

Think about the sources of new ideas in your life. What inspires you?

Poetry Friday Roundup is at Paper Tigers today.