Dzongkha

You say you want to go to Nepal,

or perhaps Peru—

you're always running around in your head

somewhere far away from wherever you are,

always inhabiting where you are not.

And I follow you,

with my eyes if not my feet, 

and listen to the names of distant places

whispered with yearning,

as if you’re trying eternally

to find home again,

or have given up altogether.

And I stay put,

forever hoping 

that if I remain still long enough

I may grow roots again

wherever I am.

Written at an Olfactory Poetry Workshop, inspired by L'Artisan Parfumeur's Dzongkha.