Road Trip 2021, Day Twenty-One (Water)

cycling through hills
of perfectly green horse farms 
before paddling

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

Road Trip 2021, Day Twenty (Lex 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

sunrise on a pond 
a historic capitol
and these endless hills

my grandparents’ store
in this perfect little town
where they’ll always rest

Uncle Tim’s hard work
built for them from the ground up
(now he’s retired)

the pond where we swam 
and where i brought my toddler 
now off to college

how harsh time can be
taking everything away
yet giving us life

the Constitution 
(a ship in Boston Harbor)
has won my man’s heart

a tavern lunch date
for our last family road trip
with all of our girls

all grown up, my girls
(they’ve been everywhere with us)
and soon they will fly

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

they all want to know
(yet no one really wants to)
how much it hurts. Hurts.

it’s in a painting
the storm-washed sea, blue background 
the broken cable

it’s in this beach day 
(today’s my uncle’s birthday)
and we can’t go back

here we are, singing 
because it’s all we can do
after the long drive

three states, three hours,
a short capital lunch break
before breaking waves

flowing stream, sun bath
is my picture-perfect beach
(dogs and drinks allowed)

more importantly:
teens jumping off the big rock
back to childhood

you can’t understand 
the traffic-less upstate life
till you’re on the road

the road with vineyards
and wineries everywhere 
the empty lake roads

you can’t understand 
waterfalls till you’ve seen these
cutting out gorges

if you knew, you’d know
just how perfect this place is
(it’s carved in sandstone)

but you’re not here, right?
so let me spill this clear view:
it’s a waterfall

it’s a waterfall 
that feeds this glacial magic
(also named heaven)