Like eager, newborn colts we bounded out of the airport tram
from the jet plane, still sleepy-eyed, & awestruck
by seeing the Alps (or Dolomites) Mountains from above

Venice’s humidity hit us like a Mack truck (not surprising; it’s surrounded by water)
the moment we hit the ground, babies we became, like the
swarthy passport guard boys that greeted us, “Okay, you fine”…we are here!

I drank my German Coke as the houses whizzed by in the sleek pickup car;
the sun beat down softly, but hot. Bells rang in the distance as we drove on…

The 10-minute walk to the piazza would had been more manageable
without the suitcases; (thank God for my commute to Queens)

There is life waiting on the canal, the terra-cotta houses and marble buildings,
frescoes, the cobblestones built over 250 years ago,
the people milling about, kissing, drinking Aperol spritzers and Camapri, eating gelato

We stopped for tapas, ate some speck ham (prosciutto)
and we sat by the water as the boats floated by.

We followed the narrow passages, lost like young fillies just learning to walk,
but we loved the journey as if we were half just-born,
half adventurers ready to run.