with first flight canceled,
a frenzied drive across town
against Swift traffic
we made it in time
to a line wrapped three times round
the doomed terminal
we had just hours
after a year of planning
to catch the right plane
at the airport bar
post-security panic
we toasted our luck
he saw my new ‘do
the grins of relief returned
twenty-five years in
on board, luck joined us
with a whole row to ourselves
on “overbooked” flight
what a start to our
silver anniversary
purple as the sun
rule for every trip:
use your legs and eyes to see,
find the water source
enjoy local food
talk to whoever talks back
drink in river views
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
after four days off
(a vacation i needed)
what a perfect note
and the orchid blooms!
he bought her eight years ago
(just a baby then)
they were babies then
my daughters, their dolls, these blooms
(trying to find light)
now unstoppable
bursting with so many buds
(flowers for futures)
