Some Poetry Lines Plucked from the Book — ‘Yosemite of My Heart, Poems of Adventure in California’
A Narrative of Transformation through Adventure
One of my enduring passions, outside work, has been the love for outdoors & adventures and writing about them. Poetry especially appeals to me as it helps put forth dense ideas in a short amount of time. And we, as working professionals know how time starved we are. Picking adventure, nature and travel as a theme to write poetry pieces come naturally then as I feel that adventure is a vehicle of exploration of the deeper self and an equally potent force for self-realization, by daring for action and exhibiting the courage required to risk failure.
This book is borne out of the various experiences that I have had over the years, which has taken me Hiking in the Redwoods, Mountaineering in Mt Whitney & Mt. Shasta, Motorcycling through the cities of San Francisco & Sausalito, Kayaking in Channel Islands, Skiing in Tahoe, Horse Riding in Half Moon Bay, and various other adventures. Undoubtedly, California has an abundant playground with landscapes ranging from mountains, deserts, islands, meadows, lakes, rivers to ocean, providing a lavish palette of colors for every poet to experiment with the different strokes on his canvas. As an inveterate explorer and adventurer at heart, I have used ‘Yosemite’ in the title of this book as an anthropomorphic metaphor to convey the attributes of resiliency, persistence and staying strong despite the challenging circumstances, which are crucial to living a rich life.
What follows below are few lines from some of the poems taken from this book, to provide a glimpse into the soul of Yosemite of My Heart —
Wild Yosemite,
Of solid granite walls,
Standing steady to the passing millennia —
Singe me with adventurous ardor!
— “Yosemite of My Heart”
Finding a Home
As an immigrant, we are forever seeking connection, rationalizing our decision on migrating to a distant land and trying to build a home, away from home, all at the same time –
“I didn’t mean to leave home
Ever. I was bound by my desire to wander”
— “On the Road”
To me, San Francisco is a city built on an eternal quest, right from the days of 1849’s gold rush to the San Francisco Renaissance in the late 1940s , leading up to 1950’s Beat generation who came here looking for creativity and freedom of self-expression and found it in the air of ‘the City’.
“We’ve left our home,
Come this far out, searching.
We are forever lost,
What holds any charm in The City?”
— “A Poet Animated in San Francisco”
“There is something in the air of California,
I have spent my thirties belonging here.
My parents have grown old in another land,
What was it about California that made me stay?”
— “The Places We Inhabit — A Pantoum”
“Have you tasted the slow burn of your raging passion?
Have you gone far out, chasing your aspiration?”
— “Of Beats, Bohemians and Bukowski”
“I got lost in the labyrinth of music and San Francisco sound” — “Of Metallica, Green Day, Jefferson Airplane”
Leafing through the book, you will find poems that delve into the distinctive ‘California vibe’ and unique essence of its varied and famous locations and landmarks
I see California through my own eyes,
And I see mountains and ocean, iconic Yosemite and Big Sur
Calling the adventurer, dreamer, and poet in each of us,
To explore, push forth through obstacles, and write our own story.
— “On California”
Finally,
“ I seek not to reach Anywhere.
But I seek to be on a journey Continually,
Without baggage of any regret or hope
Without any guilt of time elapsed
Subsumed in the experience of the voyage..”
— “Time is A False Measure”
The Book, Yosemite of My Heart, Poems of Adventure in California by Lalit Kumar was recently launched at San Francisco Writers Conference 2024’s event to a warm reception. The book is available on multiple platforms including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart Online, etc and some of the local bookstores in San Francisco Bay area.
