Well, right now, I’m writing from the Lynnwood branch of Sno-Isle libraries. But by tomorrow afternoon I’ll be on the road to meet my friend Carla in Bellingham, and the next morning at 8 a.m. we’ll be on an Air Canada flight to Dublin, Ireland.

Just, wow. 

What Carla has in mind is a poet’s tour of Ireland, and a two-day stopover in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She invited me to come along, and one of the amazing aspects of this trip is that Carla has done all the work. All I’ve had to do is write a couple checks and print out an itinerary. She booked the flights, the Air BnB’s, contacted people hosting poetry readings, wrote a flyer introducing us, and told me what to pack. Between Carla and Triple A, I’ve had a pretty easy time of it.

I paid a little extra on my phone plan in order to have unlimited access to data on my I-Phone, but if you don’t hear from me while I’m there, I’ll be back in touch mid-October.

Meanwhile, here’s a poem by Irish poet EAVAN BOLAND: