bluebird mountain day
catching the golden aspens
before they burn bare
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
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
Colorado roads:
beautiful mountain vistas
scarred by wildfires
javelina hike
to a cactus-filled Thumb Butte
to start the morning
a Whiskey Row lunch
Watson Lake under blue skies
for the afternoon
my daughter’s new friends
soon to be her new roommates:
a perfect evening
Monument Valley:
the perfect sunrise rest stop
to light our faces
snow at Grand Canyon:
surprise bucket list side trip
to catch her snowfall
all three together:
it feels like a bucket list
to let them g(r)o(w)
a new Corona
three years after quarantine
back to wilderness
girls’ trip for spring break
to collect our Subaru
and meet our sister
miracle arches
connect the past and future
with hope for this life
your bucket list waits
for a ‘delicate’ sunset,
a breathtaking arch
your children await
at the top of a boulder
with the perfect view
a lifetime awaits
at the end of vacation
yet memories last
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