I came across this poem that I wrote during my time in the Peace Corps, summer of 2001. The main lesson I need to learn is how to live simply. Do you ever wish for simple?
HONDURAS HOME
quiet little house
mountains hold our secrets
quiet little town
we haven’t many secrets to tell
rain storms hit
between sunshine showers
days to be lazy
the fruit is ripe enough to sell
no city scrapers
no rush hour traffic
no starbuck’s coffee
no screeching-halting sounds
sometimes i miss my modernized world
caught up in a tornado town
do you ever wish for simple?
tortilla baskets and flip flop shoes?
long walks, hammock naps,
time to relax as you choose?
can you carry a watermelon on your head?
have you slept with a mosquito net around your bed?
eating leftovers for the fifth day in a row
the day is so hot I dare it to snow
cobblestone streets and paint chipped corners
children playing with sticks and stones
mama’s baking bread in her clay-brick oven
papa’s planting corn on a crooked mountain row
it’s easy to judge
yet hard to understand
the other side of the world
until you give it a try
do you ever wish for simple?
so do I
