Iceland
for Keara and Joao
We are programmed for destinations,
no stops along the way.
Passports, tickets, cash, timetables,
we stay on track, moving unswervingly forward
with the least delay between Points A and B.
But there are always diversions
They derail every detail, every plan.
Iceland is diversion.
You let the blue springs kiss your skin
You resigned yourself to near a day
in the empty, yawning, cavernous place
where you were tired and lonely.
But in an instant, emptiness filled.
Another captive, another weary traveler
shared the hours with easy words and laughter,
and you began to wonder whether
Iceland was your destination all along.
It happens.
We spend so much time staring down clocks and triple-checking tickets.
In our minds, we’ve already arrived.
But really, we are right here, right now.
There’s no error, no missed step on the journey home.
You just slipped and fell into Iceland,
where you were always meant to be.
