Traveling While I Can

“Moving often as a child, I learned to love to leave: every house, every school, with nothing up my sleeve. With each move, I learned to cull and never to look back; with repetition, I acquired this hard-earned traveling knack:

First, travel lighter, not much space in a pillowcase. Learn to rank and rate and savor the few.

Second, there are always new people to be met; down the road, there’s always something new.

At first, I was sad to “lose” or “leave behind” my “friends”, be they playmates or playthings. Yet I learned there were so many others to come; impermanence is the song to sing.

And that is why I love to travel; why brevity is a true friend. For someday, sooner or later, I know my traveling days will end.”

NATURAL BEAUTY AND OTHER POEMS, p.9