Author’s Note: This poem was first drafted in 2016. I wrote this mainly out of frustration with myself for never having traveled farther than a couple of states away for family trips, and for never having had the courage to get on a plane. This year, I finally broke through both barriers, and flew all the way up to Maryland and back again (and guess what? I survived!). This post marks this poem’s first appearance in print.
I have never been there.
I’ve never seen the sights I visit nightly
in my magazine dreams.
I have never tasted
the midnight flavor of the city in the rain,
though its name is forever
on the tip of my tongue.
I have never heard its pulse,
never pressed my ear to its throbbing heart
and felt its lifeblood
rushing through my veins.
One day, I always say.
Someday.
I watch as others go.
The planes don’t stop to wave good-bye.
If you leave nothing behind,
there’s no reason to look back.
