LOVE FREELY

Life is meant to be this way-
One city to another

In the span of half a day
Twelve hundred miles to cover.

To the tune of morning rain

The passengers start boarding.
Island laughter fills the plane,
Illuminates the morning…

“To Montego Bay!” we cry-

“Island life awaits you!”
We pick up speed, then start to fly
With grayish clouds to soar through.

A yawn, a stretch, then time to work

I shimmy toward the last row
Inquiries escape the lips
Of strangers in the shadows

“Do you do always work this route?”

A woman blinks up at me.
“Does it wear ever wear you down?”
Her counterpart asks lightly.

I smile, shrug, and wave my hand

“It’s nothing but adventure.
I had a dream, I took a chance-
And, in the end, found treasure.”

The woman reaches for my arm

Her eyes are wide with wonder.
She tells me she’s afraid to fly
Afraid of diving under…

Afraid of living to the max

And staring straight at danger.
Afraid to look ahead or back
Or in the eyes of strangers.

I point out, that cannot be right:
She’s heading someplace foreign-

She booked a flight and held on tight
Then waved goodbye to boring.

She broke the barriers of fear,

And apathy, and panic.
She had the guts to make it here
Above the blue Atlantic.

She had the guts to talk to me

Which seems a bit courageous.
She’d shown a lot more bravery
Than I had seen in ages...

She seems to be so shocked by this,

Like I’ve made quite a statement.
And soon the plane begins to dip
Toward the island pavement.

Passengers get up to leave

Their smiles tell a story:
Vacation at their fingertips,
Freedom, beauty, glory.

That woman is the last to go.

Her actions then surprise me-
With tears about to overflow
She hugs me pretty tightly.

“I don’t know you,” she explains,

“But you have really changed me.
You had nothing here to gain,
Yet you loved me freely.”

I cannot find words to say,

Which doesn’t happen often…
I smile and watch her walk away-
Gone, but not forgotten.