Virtual Travel

It's nice to see the world
watching documentaries
or through nursery rhymes.
I have done it many times
In my rich imagination.
I read them word for word
and they hold for me
an enduring fascination.

I once visited New Delhi,
but only on the screen,
with Joanna Lumley,
an actor who's enchanting
besides being comely.
And followed Michael Palin
in Travels of a Lifetime,
but I was behind the scene.

One day I went a-sailing
with Timothy and Pru
and from their barge I saw
the most magnificent view.
But my journey was virtual
and I was with them in spirit.
Their program was on TV,
and I was enthralled by it.

Then I travelled on the rail
holding the Bradshaw guide
with Michael (or Miguel)
who acted as my host.
Because I was a freeloader
I voyaged at no cost.
He never noticed me
or saw I was a ghost.

I caught the travelling bug
but don't ask me why.
I heard Paul Murton sing
or maybe it was a cry:
Speed bonnie boat,
like a bird on a wing,
over the sea to Skye!
I joined him and felt smug.

This is how I like to travel:
sneaking into travelogues
but always incognito
and reading children verses
which I try to unravel.
They may be knotty tales
that were once invented
by imaginative nurses.

© Luigi Pagano 2020