He was a nice guy
Funny and loud especially
After a few drinks and a couple of joints
He often repeated just how much
He loved Ecuador
And Latin American music
‘Man! There is nothing like that
Back home in Manchester!’
And so
Quite a few people
Let him stay at their place
For days, weeks and even months
Absolutely for free
Well, he seemed to possess many talents
He was a DJ
He also wrote rhyming poetry
Dedicated to his mum and dad
And
He planned to travel
The entire world
Although for now he was
Living with an Ecuadorian girl
Who worked on TV
Therefore, he wasn’t in a hurry
To continue his journey
It was a late evening and
He and I
Stood near a pool
(It was a pool party although
It felt more like a beer-drinking contest)
And we talked or rather
He did all the talking
While I listened about
His trip to Galapagos Islands
And his current affair
‘I told her that sooner or later
I will leave and she knows that.
I say to her ‘Listen, I am sorry but
I am not a marriage material, you know.
I am married to my project so
At some point I will have to leave.’
‘And how does she take it?’
‘Well, some days she seems upset
And hardly talks to me at all and
Other days she looks happy but
Man! I’d better
Tell you about Galapagos now!
You see, after visiting Galapagos islands I finally
Understood the meaning
Of this entire existence!
Do you see what I mean?
It was like traveling back into past
Yet you could see a future!
Oh man!
I felt like Charles Darwin!’
I kept nodding, sometimes saying
‘Sure man. I see what you mean.’
I didn’t know what else to say
I have never felt like
Charles Darwin
Or Einstein, or Captain Cook,
Or Leo Tolstoy
I never tried to write
Rhyming poetry either
And even though I had been to
Many places
I never considered myself a traveler
Never cared about Galapagos Islands
Rarely wanted to understand anything
Or to come to any great realizations
In fact
All I was concerned about now was that
A while ago, I accidentally splashed
Beer right on a front of my shorts
And I was reluctant to parade in front of the crowd
With wet spot on my zipper
I remained pinned to a secluded spot
Listening to this guy’s greatest experience
Waiting for my shorts to dry up
Holding a beer
Nodding