Cilantro (Culantro)

he corrected me

even though it’s in Spanish

white buds. so pretty.

‘no’ is a new word

yet so familiar to me.

so adolescent.

we’ll see where this goes.

a flat road to nowhere fast?

or the sky, endless?

We Can Pretend

a lazy lake day

calmer than a quarantine

peace (so far from peace).

Road Trip 2020, Day Eight

along a river

this fairy tale ferry stop

has stood a beacon

in muddy waters

kids get to be kids all day

while mamas paddle

nature is our home

found in Kentucky fire

lit by desire

Road Trip 2020, Day Seven

there is no escape here.

only evasion.

it’s up this curvy road packed with hill after horse-country hill,

packed with perfect fences and horses whipping their tails,

with cars zooming past, some honking at my hugging-the-shoulder presence as i pedal

pedal

pedal

past these race-won mansions,

these stacked-limestone walls that can’t trap me in or out,

into the sunny, humid heat of midday Kentucky,

so far from home, so far from home,

so near to everything that is hard and easy, up and down these endless hills

in a circle that isn’t a circle.

Road Trip 2020, Day Six (Turtles and All)

a creek paddle day

brings every boat together

for swimming and grins

Road Trip 2020, Day Four

Kentucky cycles:

you can find happiness in

rolling hills, horse farms

Coronatine, Day Seventy-eight

solo hike with pup

not marred by weather; just bikes

but these flowers; views.

Coronatine, Day Seventy-two

the perfect respite

after seventy-one days

staying safe at home

mental sanity

in our short time here on earth

can be life-saving

hiking these mountains

with their divine mental cleanse

has saved us today

away from the crowds

away from constant worry

here. here we are safe.

Coronatine, Day Sixty-four

the sun keeps rising

and he bought a screen for pics

of all our travels

it can’t be the same

but the sun will rise again

and we’ll try again

Coronatine, Day Forty-nine

until they close this

we might be here every day

(Colorado beach)

humans love water

in all its fake and true forms

(dams, no dams, fresh, salt)

our Friday night lights

makes this feel like our old life

as fresh as sunshine