Packing

With all due respect
to Mr. Proenneke,
I have to humbly disagree
in regards to packing:
sadness does not dwell
in my carry-on.
The pages of my passport
are stamped with happy faces
blessing me with cheerful departure wishes
because they know
it does not matter to me
if where I am going
is as good as where I have been.
The very act of going
in the first place
is the heroin in my veins sir,
and if my mind is already a million miles away
exploring the unknown anything and everything
I figure I may as well join
and be damned if I’m not excited.

– a response to Richard Proenneke’s quote