the cathedrals of paris

 islands of peace,

 comfort,

serenity.

we arrived at our paris hotel, the royal aboukir, at sunset.

 stepping out of the tiny room

 onto the tiny balcony

i thought, "this alone would be enough."

arrived in heathrow

no photos allowed there.

we stood like sardines in a can,

at least a thousand of us, waiting to be cleared through customs.

 then rush, rush to saint pancras station

 where we waited and waited for our fast train to paris,

the city of love.

brattcat's back in town

still groggily time-lagged,

with more travels on the horizon.

but hello, my friends, 

hope you've been well.

another performer on the streets of toronto

wrapped up in her work

like a fly in a spiderweb

at the toronto busker's festival

entertainers made feats of danger and agility

look easy and joyful

moving through the adirondacks

been on the road for weeks.

home again long enough to do the wash,

catch up on mail,

and say a brief hello to you all before taking off again.