For today’s prompt, I want you to write a travel-related poem.
It Was
It was caravans and walkie talkies
(because who had cellphones?)
It was lugging enough
beach towels, chairs, rafts, coolers, umbrellas, and sunscreen
for 15 people
to spend the whole day
Surfside
It was watching the rain add to the ocean,
lick the salt from our skin.
It was staggering inside for lunch and air condition.
It was covering sunburn
with foundation for a night out,
my first bikini,
and telling boys I was 16
3 years too soon.
It was trail mix and
searching for shells
to add to mom’s collection.
It was, one year
one house for us all
and the words:
Never Again.
It was Garden City Pier and
“Achy Breaky Heart”
moving the feet of family and strangers to
mix to the music on the wooden planks
between the dark water and the dark sky
(we weren’t quite grounded and weren’t quite high),
and the stars
that followed us
from the farm
shone their approval.
It was
the absolute truth
of my childhood and adolescence-
we
were everything
we needed,
we were
laughter,
and sadness,
and comfort;
we were
strength
and stories
and safety…
and “surfing” on a
scratchy red and yellow raft
while our dads held us,
gave us
fruit stripe gum
so we wouldn’t swallow saltwater
when the waves crashed in our faces.
And
in the face of,
in the wake of,
in the mean time,
all the world was taking away
precious things
and throwing us
the weight of mountains,
the dark of caverns
we were loading up,
leaving out at 5am
determined to
enjoy this
this
sandcastle
this 3 slide water park
this
MTV for a week
this
beer on the beach
this
foam at our feet
the moonlight,
these separate nights,
just card games
just balconies
just fish camps
just being…
just hold on
we’re still days from home.
http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/2009/04/24/AprilPADChallengeDay24.aspx
