My Sole Travel Poem by Natasa To

I stay at the cousin house
My room is nice and red
But I paid my cousin house 500 dollars per day
From all the traveling I have over the years
My room's floor-to-ceiling windows look out into the persimmon trees
my brother swims by
Its electric red body tilts as it veers to my right
Two orchids flowers below me
Paying close attention to the changing current


And watching out the snakes
Whose spine releases a poison that can cause death
There is no antidote for its venom
Glad that I'm far from the snakes
And in my room meditates

I dine at the kitchen
My table placed the dining room
The deep room below
And basement below living room
I look through the glass windows
And see a multicolor light at the top,
Which is a reflection of the sunrise



I visit the spa closed to my cousin house
Tucked underneath black sheets
With hot stones placed on my lower back,
I open my eyes
Hearing the sounds of rainfall, tree shaking
Landslides and hurricane from the depths below
As I get massaged by the servant


I depart the cousin house
The airplane taking me back to airport
Where I meet a cab that takes me to the town
We glide over white, shallow waters
I look before me
I see the cousin house becoming smaller and smaller
And the waters becoming a darker and darker
A hurricane is near by
The sky reflects how I feel
Now that my solo has came to an complete