3 Thousand Miles and 12 Billion Years

When did you leave America?

Restlessness comes with late middle age as the face in the mirror asks: “Is that all there is?”

The siren’s song unlocked a hidden door.

A portal to Terra Incognito—Ultima Thule.

Three thousand miles to the End of the Earth.

The man waits in a coffee house for his connection.

And suddenly there she is, with sparkling eyes and a sparking wit.

“Been waiting long?” she asks.

“Not long… 12 billion years,” he quips.

Laughs over cappuccino.

The door opens wider, opening minds and hearts.

The song of life, muted by the mundane, erupts in a symphony of expression.

After an hour (or was it only a second?), it is time to depart.

Back outside, the sun has broken through, spotlighting this odd couple,

Walking arm in arm.