Travels...

travels...
--planning another journey
lots to do...
will this cold be over by then...?
count the days
count the ways

Yosemite
     in the spring
Ah-h-h-h
all that beauty...

---have to do laundry
          Now!
the dryer has been broken
     forever...
and I hate doing laundry...
and it's foggy here
the timing has to be exactly right
or I'm draping damp clothes
     over car seats
-going down the road-

can I afford this?
---I have saved and saved...
gas, goes up and up
...rooms to rent
...food to buy
...heating up the can of soup
     on the hot plate
     on the bathroom floor...
It's sort of like camping
only with
a door

Going on to the retreat
     after that...
Promising myself that this time
     I'll really get enlightened
and I won't gain weight!

No excuse to pig out
just because it is "vacation"
road food, fast food...
things I don't usually allow myself
     to eat
but it's necessary
     on the road
one must "rough it"
we are driving so far
(the car and I)
and drive-throughs
are just meant for a time like
     this ...
(I rationalize)

trying to keep
     all this planning
a secret
from you, dear
because I know you'll
     be so very angry
(I'm delaying the inevitable)
but soon it will become clear,
or I'll slip up and let it slip out,
that once again
I am running away-
going far
and fast
and staying as long
     as I can afford
just for the blessed peace
     and quiet
of being gone

from you, dear

(the x -
who refuses to - x - )