A WIDER WORLD THAN THIS ONE

The thought has crossed my mind

That I couldn’t survive

Past the county line

For more than a day.

I wonder if the world

Is limited to the walls

Of my office.

But when I close my eyes

I want to believe

That there’s a wider world

Than what I see.

I want to open my eyes

And see the waves

Lapping gently on the sand

At Virgin Gorda.

I want to sniff

And smell the lavender

Blossoming and bettering

Provence and Lyon.

When I turn my head

I want my jaw to drop

As it does whenever I go

To Times Square or Sunset Boulevard.

A life of relentless summer

And thudding sameness

Is no life at all.

Wind has to blow

And release the golden leaves.

Snow has to fall

And turn cardinals into beacons.

The world has to be wider

Than the little portion

I see every day.

I just know it.