Travel bans

My six year old and I sat one afternoon

Reading about deserts and sand dunes

My son, a keen learner of geography

Expressed interest in traveling with me

To some countries where sand dunes could be found

To which I replied we could travel all around

The world, and go to any country we fancied-

Seeing deserts and dunes and much more indeed

 

My son shook his head, quite gravely for a six year old

“No we cannot go to some countries,” he told

Me- and then proceeded to enumerate all nations

That are not completely open to visitation

By citizens of our country, due to ongoing strife

Or diplomatic skirmishes, or danger to life-

 

That set me thinking, this is an unfortunate reality we face

That despite the world shrinking into a smaller place

Barriers exist to prevent free movement of men

Largely due to differences among our brethren

Based on differences minor in the grand scheme

Of humanity- in an era when we have realized our dream

Of traveling to the moon, the least we can do

Is to have fewer restrictions on travel across boundaries too

As a traveler full of wanderlust, I keep hoping there are no

Borders remaining in the near future, and so

All of us can enjoy the sights the world has to offer

At the hands of arbitrary rules, travelers should not suffer…