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 Nineteen

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

Kentucky has coal
but also cool rainforests 
(midsummer cooldowns)

enough rain will fall
in two days to flood a creek
drunk by my puppy

water is the life
that sustains these roadside farms
its blood for our blood

tractors welcome here
along these hilly horse farms
(barns worth more than homes)

you’ll rarely pass cars 
as you meander back roads 
in this life cycle

you might find castles
hidden in the morning mist
waiting to fill you

locally grown food
waiting at a king’s table
between life cycles

don’t let the rain win
it’s a porch-swing afternoon 
filling this cycle

cycling through hills
of perfectly green horse farms 
before paddling

bucket lists are short
but should include Kentucky 
for its soft beauty

Kentucky surprise:
shadows, trees, sun, nieces, joy,
progressive murals

don’t assume you know
the beliefs of a red state 
until you’ve been there

this “bike path” presents:
sea-level cycling; beach
(rode on Rhode Island)

there’s seafood here, too.
and family filled with smiles
and gardening goals