“St. Petersburg At Last”

Well, here I am, this walking tour is done
One winter here from Moscow, it was fun;
Though getting here was not what I once thought,
As we had all that propaganda bought.

How small, provincial, we are on the plains;
They told us stuff, but fact of it remains,
What they told us was second-hand at best,
Not quite the same as real – and here’s the test –

Just send a “Google maps” car down the road,
And suddenly it’s clear what is a load
Of nonsense – oh how silly we can be;
When life is viewed on “Street-view” – plain to see.

So now, as I walk down these final streets,
And European scene is what now greets
My understanding, I am moved to ask,
“Is anything like what they taught us in the past?”

As now I shift my view to what’s unknown,
I choose to walk from Mosul – quite unknown
Until I see “That’s Nineveh!” – the ruins
Are where I’ll start from land of dust and dunes.

I’ll follow road to Greece just like the folks
Who flee as best they can in leaky boats;
I pray for Russia – their prosperity,
And those who flee the fighting, on the sea.

Thanks Lord for this.

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