Fifteen Poems

A free e-bookby Arjan Tupan

A Few Words To Begin With

I have always loved reading. Since childhood I devoured books, newspapers, magazines; and later of course blogs and other treasures I could find on the web. I am a big fan of stories. Epic or small; concise. And from all that reading, came an urge to share my own stories as well. In the form of blog posts, a short story, an article, tweets, or poetry. Mainly I write for myself, or sometimes my muse. Even though I publish some on my blog, it is always more of a personal thing. And now, it is time to share some of it in a different way. In this e-book, you’ll find a selection of my poems. Poems about love and daily life. Some already published on the afore

mentioned blog, some freshly translated from my native tongue: Dutch. All accompanied by pictures I found fitting. Pictures I made myself, to share the way I see the world.This e-book is my gift to you. You can download it and are free to share it if you so please, by sending it to a friend, posting a link on facebook or twitter, or by putting it on your site as a gift to your visitors. I just hope you enjoy reading my poems as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

Arjan Tupan, Spring 2010

A clear blue sky.Promise,of a smooth ride ahead.Everything seemseven more beautifulthan it is.

Clouds will come.But the clear bluenessconvinces us thatthe mere drizzle willjust wash awaydust and dirt.

The storms of the pastto refreshing showersreduced.The blue clearness coversand heals the wounds.

Life is great on the daywe are greeted bythe clear blue sky.We enjoy it.We cherish it.We live it.

And we should.

A Promise Of Blueness

Darkness falls over the péageAs I head North.Every roadmark tells meI am moving furtheraway from you.

But each passing minute bringsthe moment I see you againcloser.

Only 504 Kilometers Between Us

Think, rethink, shuffle and reshuffle. Then summarize and think again. A thought, a poem condensed to the limit of 140 characters.

Poetweet

I am a nomad, it's official now. In a temporary place I live, To move to the next place soon. And after that another one, Of which I know I'll leave it anyhow.

I enjoy being a nomad, I know now. Moving from place to place, Home to home, country to country.Taking with me new experiences along the way, new habits, new culture. Always growing and learning somehow.

No more fixed places, the world completely open.Opportunities everywhere.A nomad I am.

A Nomad I Am

And then, just before we reachthe summit of our low climb,the sweeping searchlight ofthe Eiffel Tower signals our

return in the bright night sky.

We're home.Holiday's over.

Back to work.

Our Rentrée

Temples and hutongsdragons and people abound.

Tea an oasis.

Beijing: An Attempted Haiku

A bed of fluffy cloudsstretches out below usalmost as far as the eye can see.The sun makes me squint whilewriting this.

Again I am on my way to Paris.Planes having almost becometrams or buses for me.Apart from the magnificent viewsof landscapes quickly getting smaller,mountain ranges becoming sand rippleswhere sea touches land;seas and oceans dotted withpinprick sized boats; anda fluffy bed of clouds,stretching as far as I want to see.

In The Air Again

The man who's crawling in front of meis practicing his guitar playing.My radio renders his soundsinaudible to me and tells mewe're in eight kilometers of traffic jam.

Behind The Man In Front Of Me

The dome of Les Invalidescatches the rising sun's rays,The Champs Elysees still empty,as is Paris plage.

Morning traffic flows easilypast quais and boulevards.

It's August,Paris a ghost town.

Paris A Ghost Town

The miracle of flying

never seizes to amaze.

It starts out on the runway

with the gathering of pace.

And then, defying gravity

when the wheels lift off the ground;

climbing to cruise altitude

hearing the jets' powerful sound.

Breathtaking views from way up

where everything seems small:

the cities, lakes and mountains;

even the biggest wars of all.

Then to touch down back on earth

and make the amazement count.

The Miracle Of Flying

Two swans on the Marne,their offspring between them.Watched from the boat bychampagne drinking partiers.

But actually, I see us,in a little while.You and I, our offspring between us,wonderfully floating through life.

Marne Swans

Hello little big man, with your big smile,your teeth coming through, your fluffy hair.Yes, it is exactly as you say.Let those crazy grown ups be,they can babble and peek-a-boo all they want.Daddy listensand understands you better every day.

Daddy Understands

I reached for the starsand touched one.The heat, cosy at first,burned my hand.But in the endwhat remains isthat I touched a star.

Untitled

Their white bellies lit by the city lights, a flock of birdspassed by the clear evening sky last nightin perfect v-shaped waves.

Were they heralding springor fleeing today's snow?

Untitled

Where our picknick basket stood this summer,now lies a big puddle of mud.The many playing and sunbathinghave yielded their space for the odd walkerin rain coat and ditto boots.The ground is covered in leaves.

It is autumn, also in the Amsterdam Forest.

Autumn In The Amsterdam Forest

Arjan Tupan is a Dutchman living in Riga. He is an amateur cook, traveller, reader, social media fanatic and self-proclaimed poet. He keeps a blog, called A Clear Blue Sky, where he writes about living abroad, travelling, work, life in general and publishes his poetry. In professional life, Arjan is founder and director of Who walks the Dog, a European Management Consultancy firm based in Latvia.

You can visit his blog at http://www.aclearbluesky.net, or follow Arjan on Twitter as @arjantupan.

As said in the few words beforehand, you are free to distribute this e-book at will, under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

The font used in this book is Junction Regular, designed by The League of Moveable Type - http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/.

About Arjan and this book