23 July, 2012

Impending Departure: Westward


(transcribed from travel journal)

Cool morning in Minnesota,
hot cup of coffee, cigar lit
the hum of the central air
like white noise, simultaneously
erasing and highlighting
the suburban buzz –
workday traffic in freshly washed
newish model cars,
lawn mowers brushing
manicured lawns, housewives
and daughters home from college
walking the dog
in ass-sculpting power shoes.
From the other side of the door
my traveling boots are calling;
whispering in a language
only we know: there are roads
to stretch out and miles to make,
mountains to see and people
to meet, telling me
what I already know:
whether among friends or even alone,
the road is it's own companion
stretches out endless
beyond the land of 10,000 lakes,
beyond techno-hipsters
in former middle class neighborhoods,
beyond Poor Richard's Common House
and the exhortations of old friends
whose kind words
cannot keep me away
from dreaming of the Black Hills.