Babadag

[Colm Roe]

Those high mountains behind our beach
separated us from reality,
a familiar barrier
that almost blocked the way back home.

Lying on the sand, eyes closed by a strong Turkish sun,
shells sang relaxation in rhythm to the surf
inhale, exhale.
But those mountains, that mountain,
I could feel.

Closest to God, Babadag
two kilometres high.
The sensation of leaving the summit,
thermals, like His hand's pull
drawn further up to witness
even more turquoise.
As if there wasn't enough already.

The paraglider pilot's first question
'Have you done this before?'
probably received a unique reply.
'That's not important here. The real question is
have YOU done this before?'
He laughed.

45 minutes later, back on the beach
I assumed I'd be back next year
like the last 15 years.

Babadag does take lives, there are no guarantees.
It expects and receives tributes,
broken bones and death mostly.

Big mountains talk to us,
tell us about pertinent things like
size and assumptions and expectations.

We couldn't visit this year.
A very small thing took it's turn
to remind us about our assumptions.

[Tracy Mitchell]

Nice reflective piece, Colm. As always you present a compelling speaker POV.
I googled Babadag and got the sense of the magnificent gliding opportunities. I love the way the speaker shares the experience with the reader.

S.1 L.4 -- "back home" -- I'd be fine with either word. Both feel redundant.
S.2 L.2 -- "shells sang relaxation in rhythm to the surf" -- maybe delete "relaxation"?

Favorite line: Big mountains talk to us.

T

[Dave]

Hi Colm
On the whole I really enjoyed this and could picture it all. There is an underlying sense of awe and loss too felt in the inabilty to return. There are moments which could perhaps be pared back a little IMO, where single words are not needed such as 'high' in the first line or the whole of S 1 L3 which is largely replicated by the next line. And although I can imagine your defence, I could imagine cutting stanza 5, which on the one hand acts as a kind of bridge mid-poem, a pause to think but becomes a little telly. It essence is found in the last stanza.
A good read.

Dave

[Colm Roe]

Thanks Tracy and Dave.
You both suggest valid edits. S5 is a bit weak Dave, it's a bridge that could be abridged
As you probably know we go there for three weeks every year, and not visiting this year was a
serious bummer. At my age I'm very much aware that I only have limited number of years left
to enjoy active pursuits like paragliding/scuba diving. Not meeting up with the English friends
we've made there over the last 15 years was also a bummer.
They did go on holidays to our hotel this year...bastards

[Matty11]

You certainly translated the experience and took me to the place Colm. And a reminder that we now have to recalibrate our assumptions. I agree with Tracy on relaxation.


best

Phil

[Colm Roe]

Thank you Phil

[Tracy Mitchell]

Now I know about Babadag, can't seem to avoid putting it on my to-do list. My fear of dying has died somewhere along the way-- this just might revive it. Otherwise, what a wonderful flight.

T

[Colm Roe]

If you decide to 'do' Babadag I'll meet you there
Here's a short video of moi near the end. The spin looks quite mild, but the G force was such fun
Just uploaded it to YouTube, it'll be live in five minutes.

https://youtu.be/RuXme1m8h1A

[Tracy Mitchell]

Awesome— thanks for sharing that. How exhilarating! I am more determined now.
But I still can’t predict when I’ll feel okay climbing into an airplane to get there.