I’m going on vacation.
Leave winter for a few days.
Play with my grandchildren
and sleep in a strange bed.
Go by the ocean
which is not strange,
never has been and never will be.
And watch people be themselves
in a new way.
Looking around, tasting loneliness,
loving home more than I know.
We all have Shangri La inside us.
A lot of people have that in mind
going on vacation,
praying to find it.
Where water is the cleanest
taste in the world.
People look at you straight in the face
and you’re not afraid.
The sun is the biggest chrysanthemum
you’ve ever seen,
and nothing’s wrong with you,
your heart doesn’t hurt,
and you see yourself in the morning
and see a friend in the mirror.
That’s what I look for on vacation.
What I try to buy.
What I think of packing my luggage.
And the little things I take with me.
A deck of cards,
Band-aids for cuts,
the toothbrush,
and something particular
I can’t do without,
as unique as we all are,
whatever it is.
Going on vacation
to find a home for myself.