he comes home with clouds
hovering over new joy
(where we could be free)
but then i must ask:
is freedom found in money?
so hard to answer
those without know best:
lack of money’s a prison
choking month to month
those with all know best:
too much money is a trap
biting claws of greed
it was just enough
for shoes, road trips, water parks
just enough to breathe
i want that freedom–
monthly-cycle jail-cell break
so far from the clouds
four weeks of travel
last load of laundry now done
dreaming of next trip
joy found in river
dipped in snowmelt for hot days
better than a beach
no hot tub lies here
just a circular rock wall
perfect for chilling
Colorado sun
mixed with friends, camping, river:
rays of happiness
blue moon this July
because of this rare campout?
old friends united
over the mountains
it fills sky with silver light
it guided us home
tomorrow? August
all the stress and joy it brings
to our small family
but for now? spotlight
reminding of our past
our future lit up
home: car cleaning bribe
so i can get my work done
and they earn their game
insurance battle
because i won’t be bullied
by corporations
i wash out bottles
and my new/old egg beater
from Nino’s Antiques
(the shop in Gorham
i went to as a child
with just two pennies
and Nino emerged
with his wax-curled mustache
and sold me his goods
and this egg beater
will remind me: he’s still there
in my timeless town
his mustache now gray
asking my girls about school
his PBS on
selling his antiques
for much too little money
and chatting with kids
he’s no CEO
no insurance scam artist
my hometown hero)
one last lunch break stop
at the last Pony Express
history to chew
five thousand miles
sixteen states, three Great Lakes,
one foreign province
home to our daddy
waiting with open arms, love
and Denver’s sunshine
fit in a beach lunch
before Midwest rain torrents
that opened to blue
no fast food today
peanut butter for swim time
best mom bargain yet
ten more car hours
we’ll sleep at home tomorrow
in our no-lake state
but we’ll have daddy
better than any beach day
Iowa, Maine… home
two days, three Great Lakes
city view transfers to beach
(they’re tired of pics)
look how amazing!
i shout to their grumbling
freshwater ocean!
reluctance wavers
as they find rocks and small waves
accept magnitude
(this after lunch fight
refusing peanut butter
drive-thru battle won)
Illinois takes us
twelve hours past the border
at Wendy’s, give in
they live for water
cause it’s all about the pool
on the long ride home
all ages love boats,
skyline tower views, no waves,
island tree climbing
parks make cities nice
waterfront, shady, crowd free
not these skyscrapers
multicolored ride
subway, tunnel underground
(to hide from winter)
what about fresh air?
facing the snowy cold day?
not in Toronto
for now, sun shines through
we see commerce’s belly
windows heaven down
it’s hard to picture
winter’s isolating freeze
(even fruit hides here)
that’s what it’s like now
just before our trek back home
(last time i’ll see her)
in tunnels, hiding
just like friendships wax and wane
waiting to come back
New York left behind
tears in my throat once again
goodbye hilly farms
off to Canada
tourists, crazy drivers
(no speeding tickets?)
traffic jam entrance
into tall tower city
and strange busker fest
no one greets us, ‘eh’
just my friend, daughter’s namesake
waiting with a meal
i miss the silence
the small waves of Finger Lakes
coaxing me to sleep
sigh… the road takes us
through ups and downs, silence, crowds…
as i’ve asked it to
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