(I stop my quick walk when,
looking down, I see
words chalked in white,
fading into sidewalk)

Poem by
Honey
Valley

(then a line of words in blue chalk,
mostly worn away, unreadable,
and three more lines)

Do you hear that?
the engine of your machine
whirring hard

(good lines, Honey)

That’s the sound of your heart
thump
thump

(and then, because Honey clearly
likes repetition)

Do you hear that?
Lean in
Pause

(squinting, I have to turn around
to see her final shoe-scuffed,
upside-down word in blue,
I imagine, for emphasis)

PAUSE

(and I do, with a smile,
walking back up the sidewalk
to the beginning
to read this Honey of a poem
hopscotching down
Menzies Street
on a sweet Victorian
afternoon)

•••

We bid a fond farewell to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as we head home
to Sacramento today. We’ve spent a lovely fortnight here in some of our favourite
places, walking and eating (fish! so much good fish! Tea! Nanaimo bars!) and visiting
with friends, old and new, in Victoria, in Sidney and in Campbell River.