Silver Anniversary Trip, Day Twenty-one

a calming cycle
on a rails-to-trails flat path:
way to start the day

more history learned 
at a medieval castle 
built, burned, lost, rebuilt

my man boating us
back down the river, towards home
our heritage left

Silver Anniversary Trip, Day Twenty

riding up river
in a boat we drive ourselves 
weathering windstorms

the river’s flooded
even for Irish standards
yet we navigate

monastery stop
seventh century ruins
Irish faith runs deep

a long drive’s reward:
stellar food, oldest pub
and Guinness to drink

sleeping on a boat
knowing Athlone’s lights alight 
can be quite calming

a castle day trip
cycling on sketchy roads
yet worth the visit

hidden Irish gems:
four hundred years of earls
residing in stone

science surprises:
this telescope discovered 
distant galaxies

and Bruce got to stand
in the largest redwood grove
outside the U.S.

night ends with laughter
in a 1500s pub
kindness in their blood

we’re the post office:
through wind, rain, sleet, clouds… weather
we weather the storm

just another day
in the life we’ve created 
in sickness and health

rising before dawn
to walk up stairs to a plane:
yes, in Portugal

seeing motherland 
for the first time in my life?
green love connects us

it’s more than patchwork 
it’s where so many of us
find our heritage

a one-day journey
to return to our homeland 
of a thousand years

botanic gardens
will forever be compared
to Monte’s beauty

tropical magic
trees and blooms of every shade
giving us NO shade

two thousand years old:
a tree planted by Romans
to bring us olives

on all future trips
beating Madeira? so hard
blue-green amazement

1.8 million:
the years laurel has lived here
giving life to all

enchanted forest:
the only words to describe 
Madeira’s true gold

traditional homes
give homage to these laurels
simple thatched roofs

a magical place
waits for you on this island 
hidden in the sea

this Funchal art walk
makes me miss my young artists 
at home without us

yet we must adjust
with the empty nest so close
i can feel its grip

this trip is a test
to see what “just us” feels like—
we’re on sold ground

ten thousand stone steps
slippery at dawn, at noon 
as mist never stops

ten thousand reasons 
to be afraid of this hike,
yet we keep trekking

ten thousand peak views
all in different shades of light
just like our marriage

ten thousand questions 
when we married at twenty
look how far we’ve come

enchanted lava 
creates unique swimming pools
otherworldly

infinity pools
so twenty-first century 
simply don’t compare