PDX ➔ SFO ➔ SJO
To the wage slave,
vacation is reprieve —
letting go of alarms
and responsibilities
feels like blessed freedom
from the quotidian game
Oh, to fly to sunny places
and cavort in jungles,
get a sunburn at the beach
and try to avoid falling ill!
Is this the dream
I was meant to harbor?
Are we meant to work
and work and work away
only to steal back life
in 3- and 5-day increments?
Whose invisible hand is
wrapped around our throats?
Ready to call it quits already. 
Paraiso de Cielo Sunset
Plant watering day,
the Thursday, whether
home or away —
tending the garden
is food for the soul,
rewarding with life
bursting from grass and bud,
leaf and branch —
the mariposas flutter by
as the birds visit too,
paying homage as the sun
sets, a chorus of insects
now alight as the sky
darkens, clouds sweeping
down the valley to
course over the bay below...
harmony in myriad sounds
swirls through humid air.On the Secret Tour
Tidepools keep safe
things of the sea
in little pockets of water
rising and falling
in the surf
Sea slugs move slowly —
crabs scuttle quickly —
fish dart about —
and our feet get wet
as we slip among
the black rocks,
sharp, uneven,
pocked with holes
My dad would have loved
to explore this
particular corner of
nature's bounty...
I hold him in my
heart, as I hold myself
together for another
day in paradise.
Returned
What does it mean
to come home again,
standing in spaces known
to balance the forces
between chapters unfinished
and stories completed?
Will the memories hold
weight beyond the pictures
of sunlight and palms,
green leaves wavering true?
Who shall I become
in the wake of this voyage
awakening the soul
among dreams, fictions,
truths, and new horizons?
I fold up the map,
neatly, and coalesce
concepts on my brow —
we traveled well,
and quietly, finding something
to help us grow. Artist’s Note: Traveling always kicks up new thoughts. Two weeks of vacation in Costa Rica refilled the well. Or, did it?
I am still thinking about Costa Rica many years after returning home from a 2-week trip there, so hopefully your memories will well up and bring you joy for many years to come too.