City Girl....Country Girl ...Old Leak, Lincolnshire

There are some moments in life that I wish I could share with my entire universe...and there are many others that I would rather have the universe give them who belong to mine an opportunity to experience it by themselves. Camping in a Stationary Caravan in the middle of a field in the British countryside is one such experience that I hope comes your way.

It seemed surreal for such a long time to me...As I drove into the a small village called Old Leak...Clear, cool and free from the clutter , I am now beginning to fear my transformation into a simple countryside girl...enjoying the relaxed...peaceful...slow...and easy ways of village life.

As I write the wind blows across my face through my caravan window. I look around me. Dainty laced pink and grey silk curtains...a cute little English teapot filled with hot tea calling out to me. Magical lights illuminating the spaces around me with hues of orange and red. A platform that serves as the kitchen equipped with all that I need . Comfortable couches and a dining area with sofas. 2 Bedrooms with a double bed in one blue so soothing and a shade of lavender with two single beds in the other room . A bath area tucked in like the other rooms behind what first seemed to me like a wall cabinet. What fascinates me the most are the curtains...very british and "cute". My first thought was "awwwww...this is like a doll house".

A downpour outside...rain.. like this country has not seen in years...Floods but I am distant from them. Perched safely. Gazing into eternity. The sky turning grey narrating stories unheard and untold. Of pain and glory of what was once a clear blue sky. I wonder.

Can there be serenity in grey? Or is it just my eyes tempting me to conjure up that which the world would think of as a turmoil.

There seems to be peace in the melancholic nature of what I see around me. The beauty that I see outside is still. Silent. A story somewhere. My thoughts wander to the old pub in the small village whose only occupants are its owners and visitors who have seen not a world outside this little village for nearly a century. They have lived. Experienced. And are gathering moments so precious to their life.

From all my knowledge and conditioning..their lives seem to be pretty straightforward to me. Simple. Where are the complexities? I wonder.

Yet another cold breeze breathes new thought into my process. Well...I smile...

Is there a need to look for the complexities. The beauty probably lies in appreciating the simple.

The wind roars yet again. I look outside and feel the caravan shiver. My friend looks at me and sighs...Loss of sleep for the night I am guessing...out of fright? Or discomfort?

I am at home here. Yet again. Each time I travel I seem to be perfectly at home at these temporary sanctuaries. May dedicate it to my nomadic streak...or just comfortable feeling at peace with myself.

I know its going to be a long night...dark..mysterious.. with light on the other side. A new day with experiences new and different.

With people and stories that are real yet beyond my own understanding of the same.

There is poetry kindled somewhere within. I let it remain. Let it grow a little more.

There are stories whispered around me... I strain my ears to listen to the branched occupants of spaces outside me sway in a rhythm set by the messengers of the heaven blowing into them...cajoling them to create a dance Divine yet Dark.

I am curious. I want to go out. I want to join them. I pause.

Waiting for this trance to suspend for a while. For this abstraction to subside within me.

- Sharanya
-25^th June 2007
22:02