My name is Padre Gautuma and one of the things I love about poetry is that it has a very

particular relationship with time. Sometimes we can feel so rushed and poetry, even in the

midst of speaking about important things or rushed things, seeks to create a curious

corner that can explore something without the pressure of time upon it.

Let me start. Book right now for the Journey of a Lifetime by Imtiaz Darker.

We plan a holiday, a mini-break, a long weekend, a stolen week. We draw the options, seek out

the perfect combination of hotel and flight, the distant beach, the extra night, consider

packing suitcases, examine the travel clothes and lotions, get as far as tying on our baggage

tags. Then I look at you standing here in this pale grey light and think that I have miles

and miles to go before I know you. And as in any unknown country, I may wish to travel

to your sites and make repeated visits to become familiar with you. We look out of the

bedroom window at the usual view and think we may prefer to linger on here, where we have

each other's endless landscapes to explore, where I seek out your shore, you stalk my tigers

and the world will say it lost us. This will be our stolen week, your kiss, my break,

my eyes, your lake, your mouth will be my Paris, and as for match of pit-chew, there are

other routes than dizzy altitude to render us light-headed, other ways than thin blue

air to leave us breathless and we are here, not away, not far, but where we want to be.

Still where we were, this red arrow pointing straight at who we are and you are here.

The title of this poem is so clever because it is two short sentences, the likes of which

you find on an advertisement from a travel agency asking you, urging you to book a holiday

quickly. Don't miss out. Book right now for the journey of a lifetime and there is exclamation

marks after each of these sentences. It is very strange, kind of title to have for a poem

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